Through Rivalry Comes Love
by TVDVampire
Summary: In the rainy city of Seattle, two companies fight to stay on top. In the end, two people must decide who they will remain loyal to.
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

**A/N: Yes, the new story is here! The characters are a bit out of character and this story is all human.**

**If you would like me to continue, PLEASE let me know. I do not want to write a story that you all find no interest in. I would rather spend my energy writing something that people enjoy reading. So, your thoughts are appreciated :)**

**Also, I am leaving this story rated T, but it may get a little risqué at certain moments. I do not want to offend anyone, so I will do my best to keep it tame while also keeping it … sexy? Is that the right word? There will be some use of language as well, but not all the time.**

**Finally, I do not own The Vampire Diaries or anything associated with it. I am borrowing the characters and changing them as I see fit. This is for entertainment purposes only.**

**I would like to update this story at least twice a week. Depending on my class and internship schedule, this may fluctuate, so please be patient with me. I will let you all know via my Twitter ( TVDVampireKat) when to expect updates.**

**Enjoy!**

"Check!" he said, catching the waitress by her arm as she rushed passed him. She smiled and nodded, promising to be right back with it. "You have to be on top of these people or you'll never get any service" he said smugly.

Elena forced an agreeing smile. "What do you think about me coming back to your place with you this evening?" she asked.

His head snapped up from his phone as he looked at her. "You know I love having you over" he said, giving her his signature smile. "But I'm pretty tired and I have an early meeting" he said, shooting her down. "I'll just drop you off at your place and see you tomorrow" he said.

"Oh, okay" Elena said, trying not to sound disappointed. But he didn't seem to notice. His check was handed to him and he was placing his credit card in the holder, handing it back. Elena sat back in her chair and focused on anything but him. She shouldn't have been so bothered by his rejection. It was pretty frequent lately.

The drive back to her place was short and rejecting too. He stayed on his phone the entire time, not even looking at her.

But he loved her. Gregory. Gregory loved her. Elena was sure of it. It was just the price of being in a relationship with the CEO of the company she worked for. He was busy.

When they were parked outside of her building, he ended his phone call. "I'll see you tomorrow" he said, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. "Goodnight" he smiled.

She smiled as well. He could be sweet when he wanted to be. "I love you" she said.

He smiled again. "Love you too" he told her. Elena got out of the car and waved to him as she walked to the front of her building. As she took out her keys, she saw his car pull out of the lot and back onto the road. She sighed. She loved him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Goodnight Mr. Salvatore" he heard as he grabbed his bag and his coat.

He looked up to see an elderly woman doing the same, giving him a warm smile as she waved at him. He returned her smile. "Betty, how many times do I have to tell you?" he asked her. "Stefan. Call me Stefan" he said, shutting the door to his office. His brother's decision to hire Betty as their receptionist five years ago had been the smartest thing the elder Salvatore had done. The elderly woman was like a grandmother to everyone, fussing over their lunch and their personal lives. He loved it because quite frankly, he needed someone to do that sometimes.

Betty smiled again, paying him no mind. Her professional manner would always win out. "I'll walk out with you" she said, shutting her computer down. Stefan waited patiently by her desk until she was by his side. "Any plans this evening?" she asked as they walked. "Might you have a special evening planned with someone special?" she hinted.

Stefan smiled. "No, nothing special this evening" he answered.

"A handsome young man like you should have a special lady in your life you know" she told him.

Stefan again smiled. "Work keeps me pretty busy" he said, opening the door for her.

She shook her head disapprovingly. "Rubbish" she said. "A special young lady is exactly what you need so you can learn to have fun and relax" she explained as they made their way to her car. He helped her with her door and waited patiently for her to get in. "You're going to eat dinner tonight, yes?" she asked. Yes, she fussed over him the most because of his single status.

Stefan smiled. "I'm going to my brother's house" he assured her.

When her door shut, she rolled down her window and smiled at him. "Have a good night Mr. Salvatore" she told him, driving off before he could correct her.

Stefan waved until he could no longer see her car. He shook his head and laughed as he walked to his own car. Once inside, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was exhausted trying to keep the company afloat. Although his older brother was working hard to help, Damon had a fiancé to get home to, leaving Stefan to work the long, late hours.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan let himself into his brother's house and could already smell the food that was coming from the kitchen. "Hello?" he asked, walking into the house a little more.

Bonnie appeared, giving him a big smile. "You came" she said, sounding almost surprised. Though, he never usually came over for dinner, choosing to go home and be by himself. Or, work even later into the evening and sleep at the office.

"Damon said you threatened to drag me over here if I didn't" Stefan said, accepting Bonnie's hug.

"You know I would have" she smiled, letting him go. "How was work?" she asked.

"Work was … work" he said, sounding exhausted. Ever since a neighboring rival company in the area started up a year ago, business had taken a hit. Salvatore Coffee Inc. had been around for decades thanks to Stefan and Damon's family. Now, with Gregory's Coffee Company in the local and national distribution playing field, the Salvatore's were trying to find a way to survive.

"You work too much" Bonnie said, following Stefan into the dining room that was already set up for them. She took his jacket and put it aside. Bonnie had always fussed that work took up too much of their time. Damon had always wanted to make sure he could buy Bonnie anything she wanted, but what he had failed to see was, all Bonnie wanted was for Damon to be happy. They could have been living in a cardboard box and she would have been happy as long as she had Damon. It was a wonderful relationship to have, though, it continued to remind Stefan of what he was missing.

And the business was important to him for reasons besides an income. It had been in the family for quite some time and Stefan didn't want to see it go under. "Someone has to" he mumbled under his breath, replying to her last statement.

"Red wine okay?" Bonnie asked, pouring him a glass. He took it gratefully, working hard not to chug it all down at once. He wasn't even really that hungry. He was too worked up about the survival of a family business.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After dinner, Stefan and Damon went out to the garage and sat down at a table in there to discuss the plan of action needed for their company. "The only way Salvatore Coffee is going to survive for years to come is if we permanently take down Gregory's Coffee" Damon said, tapping his pen on the table.

"Their business is doing really well" Stefan reminded. "How do you suppose we knock out a thriving company?" he questioned.

Damon smirked. "Every company has a week spot, little brother" Damon said, already scheming in his mind. "We just have to find it, expose it, and watch the company crumble."

"Why do I get the feeling that you already have a plan?" Stefan asked, running his hand over his face.

Damon's grin intensified. "Why little brother, you are correct" he said, slapping the table as he stood. "I got you a meeting with the Chief Financial Officer of Gregory's Coffee" Damon smiled. "You are meeting for dinner tomorrow night."

Stefan groaned. "I do not want to have dinner with some dude who is the reason my company is failing" he said, banging his head down on the table and leaving it there.

Damon smirked. "The Chief Financial Officer is a woman" he informed his brother. Stefan slowly lifted his head up. "Her name is Elena Gilbert. She holds the exact same title as you, so you two will have plenty to talk about. Wine her. Dine her. Charm her. Do whatever you have to do to get information out of her. She knows the ins and outs of her company. She has to have some pretty juicy tidbits for us."

"Have you ever met this Elena Gilbert?" Stefan asked, seeing his brother shake his head no. "She's probably old and crotchety" he sighed. "Why can't you do this?" he asked.

"Because. You are much better with words than I am. And, Bonnie would kill me if she knew I was flirting with someone else" he added. "Who knows. You might even get this Elena into bed if she's your type" Damon grinned.

"I'm not that desperate yet" Stefan glared at him.

"If you say so" Damon said. "Oh, and by the way. You're paying for dinner and drinks" he added before disappearing back into the house.

Stefan put his head back on the table and groaned some more. This was a horrible idea, trying to get information out of the rival. His brother was an idiot.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I'm doing what tonight?" Elena asked as she stood dumbfounded in Gregory's office.

He sat in his oversized chair and stared at her. "I got a call from Damon Salvatore, asking if my Chief Financial Officer would meet with his tonight to discuss business" he said. "I'm sure they are fishing for information, seeing as how we are taking all of their business. So, I am counting on you to get information out of this guy tonight and report back" he explained. "Maybe we can shut down business at Salvatore Coffee once and for all" he grinned.

Elena threw her hands up in frustration. "Why can't you meet with him?" she asked.

Gregory smiled. "Because" he shrugged. "A pretty little thing like you will catch his attention and make him lose his focus" he explained. "Do whatever you have to do to get him to tell you things."

Elena was less than thrilled. "What if he wants me to sleep with him?" she asked, waiting for Gregory's jealousy surface. After all, they were a couple.

But Gregory just shrugged. "Sleep with him then" he said, standing. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm counting on you, Elena" he said, leaning in and kissing her lips slowly.

Then, he was out the door, leaving Elena to stand alone in his office. Irritancy didn't even begin to describe what she was feeling. She had much more important things to do, things that were making sure Gregory's company was staying on top, than to go flirt with the rivaling company all evening.

Some might have said Gregory was using her for personal gain, sending her to this meeting instead of going himself. And if she had let herself believe it, what would there have been left in her relationship to believe in?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena checked herself in her full length mirror, looking her dress over. It was too … business-y. It would show that she was professional, but would probably bore him. Elena was quite aware of what Mr. Salvatore – Stefan Salvatore – looked like. He was very attractive and to catch his interest, she needed to be too. Pretty wasn't going to cut it tonight. She had to be alluring too.

But not slutty. Therefore, she tossed a low-cut dress to the side. She'd never be able to sit through dinner wearing that thing anyways. If she looked easy, he'd find a way to get the upper hand. She was quite smart herself, having two Master's degrees at the age of 25. But she was quite aware that when the Salvatore's wanted something, they usually went after it. And if they wanted information on Gregory's Coffee, they would fight like hell to get it, and she had to be prepared to turn the tables.

So, an elegant dark green dress was the winner. Not too tight, but hugging her in all the right places and falling just past her knees. The dress had short sleeves, making her look professional and hiding just enough to make him wonder what was underneath the dress. Not that he would ever find out, but, it would give her an edge tonight and in any other encounters they might have in the foreseeable future.

Elena checked her watch and decided she should probably head out. She wanted to arrive after him so he could see her walk in. Her legs were her best asset, according to Gregory. Stefan would definitely get to see them tonight.

She grabbed her purse and made sure her recorder was inside, along with her wallet and other essential items for freshening up in the bathroom. With one last look at herself, she headed out the door.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan took a sip of the merlot he had ordered as he sat at the table, awaiting the arrival of this Elena Gilbert. He checked his watch and took note that she was not going to be early. But he was willing to bet she wouldn't be late either.

And he was right. He saw a young woman check in with the host and then check her coat. He then saw them make their way to his table. He nearly dropped his glass of wine when he finally got a good look at her walking towards him. Big, bright brown eyes, long, silky chocolate brown hair, and a perfect light olive complexion. Why in the hell had been regretting this evening? He was the luckiest bastard alive.

He watched the bottom of her green dress hit lightly against her knees as she walked. She walked with perfect balance in her brown heels. "Mr. Salvatore?" he heard, snapping him out of his intent awe. He quickly jumped up from his seat and set his glass of wind down, giving her his full attention. "I'm Elena Gilbert" she said, extending her hand with genuine politeness that he hadn't seen in quite some time.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Elena. And please, call me Stefan" he said, giving her a beautiful, charming to die for smile.

She didn't seem to be falling for it though. "I prefer to keep this as professional as possible, Mr. Salvatore" Elena said, taking her hand back as she began to pull out her chair.

He could have slapped himself for his lacking manners as he moved around the table. "Allow me" he said, grabbing the back of the chair and pulling it out for her.

"Thank you" she said.

He moved back to his seat and grabbed for the bottle of merlot on the table. "May I offer you a glass?" he asked, keeping with the polite professional tone that she had set.

"Please" she said, watching as he skillfully poured her a glass and handed it to her. She had to focus intently on making sure the tart liquid went into her mouth and not dribble down her chin. Because Stefan Salvatore was even sexier in person than in any photo she had ever seen. "I take it you are well aware of what we are doing here tonight?" she asked, placing her glass down on the table.

Stefan smiled at her. "I was briefed, yes" he said, holding his smile and looking into her eyes. She didn't look away though and he was pretty sure it was to not look weak. "But why spoil the evening with talk of business" he told her. "We are both very talented CFO's for our companies. I say we get to know each other tonight and discuss business some other time."

Crap. He was trying to seduce her. And she could have fallen into the palm of his hand at any moment if she so much as chose to. Double crap. Why couldn't Stefan Salvatore be extremely unattractive? "Mr. Salvatore" she said, trying to regain her power in this conversation. Hell, trying to regain power of her body that was screaming at her to let him have his way with her in the back of his expensive car. "I would prefer that we stick to the agenda tonight and discuss business" she told him, keeping her composure.

Stefan tilted his head to the side slightly, indicating that he was in fact studying her features. "You look absolutely beautiful tonight" he told her.

So this was how he was going to play all night. She would get nowhere with him if she didn't flirt back. But clearly, her efforts to stay professional were not a turn-off for him. They were a challenge. Good. She could give him a challenge. New plan. Make him want her to the point where he would do anything to have her, including willingly giving her information about his company that was vital to its survival. "I haven't been told that in quite some time" she said, allowing a slow, innocent smile to creep across her lips. It was true. Gregory didn't give out many compliments. But it was also working to her advantage tonight.

Stefan gasped, clearly being dramatic for added effect to make her smile. "Who in their right mind wouldn't tell you how beautiful you look everyday" he said, turning the charm way up. Stefan was well aware that Miss Gilbert was in a relationship with Gregory of Gregory's Coffee. Stefan could give you a few choice words to describe the guy and most of them stemmed from the fact that the asshole was trying to sink the Salvatore coffee business.

"You sure know how to make a girl feel wanted" Elena said, allowing a blush to appear on her cheeks.

"Someone as smart and beautiful as you should always feel wanted" Stefan told her, taking another sip of is wine and keeping his eyes on her the whole time. "Shall we order?" he asked, snapping his fingers to get the waiter's attention. He was at their table within seconds. "I'll have the linguini with a side salad" Stefan ordered. "And this lovely woman will have?" he asked, giving Elena their full attention.

"A Caesar salad please" she said, handing the waiter her unused menu.

"I hope you save room for dessert. They make an excellent truffle cheesecake" Stefan said, leaning in just a bit to lock eyes with her again.

Elena smiled. "Will you excuse me? I need to use the ladies room" she said. He stood with her and when she passed him, she stopped for just a moment, allowing her side to touch his. She reached up slightly so she could whisper in his ear with utmost confidentiality. "I prefer to have dessert first" she said, leaving her words to register in his mind and her warm breath to linger against his ear. She dropped her hand ever so conspicuously, resting it against his abdomen, getting her first peek at what she had been internally debating in her head all day. He worked out. With that, she smiled and began walking towards the restrooms, disappearing into the women's.

He sat down quickly because he could have deconstructed at any moment. God, she was driving him crazy. And he was letting her. He looked back towards the restrooms, then around the restaurant. It wasn't very busy in there. He could sneak in without being noticed. Slowly, he got up and meandered toward the back, looking one last time before slipping into the women's room.

He walked past the stalls and the sink, seeing that she wasn't using any of them. He opened another door to the powder room and saw her leaning against the sink, smiling devilishly at him. She slowly walked towards him, feeling extra bold. Maybe it was the little bit of wine in her system. Or maybe it was Gregory's voice in the back of her head, telling her to do whatever it would take to get Stefan Salvatore to talk. She placed her hands on his chest, watching his eyes that were glued to hers. His hands slowly slid up to hold her waist, more to steady himself than to touch her. Elena stepped even closer to him, effectively pressing her body against his. She could feel his breathing falter. He was losing control.

In all honesty, so was she. "Elena" he said, his voice cracking as he said it.

That's it, she thought. She just had to give him that little boost to push him over the edge. Slowly, she undid the top button of his neatly pressed blue shirt. It really brought out the green in his eyes. Elena smiled as she reached up on the tips of her toes so her lips hovered next to his ear. "Just one little tidbit of information about your company, and you can have me all. Night. Long" she whispered slowly and seductively. His body tensed and she felt it. He. Was. Hers.

He rested the side of his head against hers, letting himself try and guess what shampoo she used. Her hair smelled like vanilla. He could tell she was on edge too and they were both trying to see who would give in first. "If you tell me your company's secrets, I'll tell you mine" he whispered dangerously into her ear, igniting a fire inside of her that she was going to have to spend hours putting out. She was well aware that his statement had a double meaning to it. He smirked, feeling how her body had reacted to that comment. Better yet, how her body had reacted to him. "Better yet, I'll show you" he promised, moving his hips towards hers just a little more.

Elena had to bite down on her tongue to keep from crying out. Damn her body for betraying her. "I asked you first" she said, trying to sound as if she was unaffected by his latest movement. She kept debating with herself whether or not she would have sex with this man tonight, knowing that she would get what she wanted. What Gregory wanted.

She heard Stefan chuckle softly, sending a vibration through her ear and thus, through her body. "Looks like we've reached a stalemate then" he said, loosening his grip on her waist and taking a small step back. Elena almost felt the energy drain out of her body from the loss of contact with him. She looked up at him and saw the sparkle in his eyes. He wanted to remain in control. He had never planned on losing it. "It's a shame, really" he said, a faint smirk lingering. He leaned in and she could feel his warm breath against her neck. "I'm willing to bet we could have rocked each other's worlds tonight" he whispered, leaving a soft, gentle kiss on the side of her cheek as he pulled away from her. He dropped his hands to his sides, effectively dissembling all contact. Then, he smiled at her. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Gilbert. I do hope we meet again." With that, he straightened out his shirt, fixed the top button, and left the bathroom.

Elena stood there, her legs barely holding her up. Sexual frustration didn't even begin to describe her problems right now. Stefan Salvatore had just gotten the better of her, and she didn't take kindly to being played at her own game.

**A/N: So? You like it? Should I keep writing?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This chapter is shorter than the first one, but I wanted to end it where I did. These two are so much fun to write. I hope you enjoy reading them!**

**52 reviews for the first chapter? You all are amazing. Thank you. I hope this story continues to catch your interest. **

When her breathing had finally calmed down and her legs felt sturdy, she smoothed out her dress, took a deep breath, and made her way towards the door. She had no idea what to expect once she left the bathroom. Would he have waited around for her after all? She honestly did not want to see him, or that ridiculously sexy smile of his. Life would have been so much easier had he been ugly.

Once outside, she stopped momentarily and scanned across the restaurant until she landed on their table. He was nowhere to be seen. Good. She needed time to compose herself and create some sort of "anti-attraction" serum so she would not melt in his presence anymore. That had been embarrassing. She was always so calm and collected in the presence of others.

With her head held high, she walked across the room and towards the host to collect her jacket. The young man immediately went to retrieve it, though Elena's eyebrows raised in confusion when she saw him return. "That's not my jacket" Elena informed him.

"I'm sorry Ma'am. But the gentlemen you were here with took your jacket and asked that I give his to you" he said with a somewhat worried look on his face. "He said you would understand" he added, hoping that this woman would not rip his head off right there. Because she looked mighty irritated.

And she was. Elena felt her cheeks turn red as she snatched the jacket from his hands and made her way out the door. "That damn, son of a …" she began to mutter. She stopped abruptly once outside, feeling the cold air hit her, even through the material of her dress. The temperature had dropped significantly since she had been inside.

She looked his jacket over and came to the conclusion that he probably didn't have lice or any other kind of bugs that she could get. She quickly shrugged his jacket on and watched as it fell down to her knees, being slightly too large for her. She held the jacket closed as she began to walk briskly towards her car. God, the jacket smelled exactly like what she remembered from her very intimate contact with him earlier in the bathroom.

Elena shoved her hands in the pockets of his jacket and felt her fingers brush against something. She pulled out a business card. Salvatore Coffee Inc. with Stefan's name and credentials spelled out in shiny gold letters on the front. She turned it over and saw that he had scribbled something on the back. "If you would like to exchange our jackets back, you know where to find me" Elena read aloud. A phone number, a cell number she thought, was listed underneath with the words "Call me, maybe?" under that.

Great. Now she was going to have that damn song stuck in her head all night.

If she didn't return his jacket, it would indicate that she was giving up and that he had won. She couldn't let that happen. She would return his jacket and give him a piece of her mind.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena left work early the next day, successfully avoiding Gregory all day. She really did not want to go into detail about how she had gotten nothing out of Stefan the night before. She also wanted to catch Stefan before he left work, having no intention of calling his cell phone and meeting up someplace else with him.

She pushed through the main doors of Salvatore Coffee Inc. and after seeing no one at the reception desk, she continued on her way down the hall and through another set of doors. The place was practically dead inside. The only sign of life was an elderly woman sitting at a desk up ahead. The woman smiled when she saw Elena approach. "How may I help you Dear?" she asked, adjusting her glasses.

Elena's intent to be as rude and as stern as possible quickly faded in the presence of this woman. "I umm …" she said, forgetting her words all of a sudden. "I'm here to see Mr. Stefan Salvatore" she said, much more quietly than she had intended.

The woman, Betty, Elena had come to realize was her name, smiled at her. And not a friendly polite smile, but more of a beaming excited smile. "Oh yes, come come" she said, moving around the desk and ushering Elena to the room across the walkway. She opened the door without knocking, something that would never happen at Elena's company. Stefan was on the phone looking serious, but as soon as he saw Elena standing in front of him, he smiled knowingly and dismissed the person on the other end of the line. "This lovely girl is here to see you" Betty informed, still smiling.

"Thank you Betty" Stefan said, standing from his chair. He took note of his jacket in her arms. Betty let herself out of his office and shut the door to give them privacy.

"I honestly didn't think you were going to show" he said, walking around his desk and leaning against the front of it. Damn him and his perfectly pressed black slacks, shiny black shoes, and green button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his wrists.

"You stole my jacket" she said accusingly, tossing his on the nearby chair. "I've come to retrieve it and have no interest in doing any more than that" she said matter of factly.

Stefan smiled. "Oh really?" he asked, quite amused. "Your eyes are betraying you, Elena" he said, tilting his head slightly to look at her. "By the looks of it, you want to do more than just give me my jacket back" he said, almost laughing at the way her eyes had inadvertently scanned over his body more than once. He wanted to do more to her too. His sexual attraction towards this woman was overbearing and quite honestly, if he didn't find a way to relieve it, well … he would be rather miserable until he did.

Her eyes snapped back up to his upon hearing this. "No" she said, clipping her answer. "I am here to get my jacket and that is all" she informed.

Stefan smiled again. "I want to take you to dinner" he said, changing the subject on her. "It's the least I can do for running out on you last night" he said, the smile still playing on his lips.

His eyes burned into hers, but she did not look away. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. "No" she answered sternly. "My jacket, Mr. Salvatore" she said, straightening up her posture.

"Alright then" he said, pushing himself away from his desk. "It's in my car. Would you like to accompany me to get it?" he offered.

"No, I will wait here" she said. She didn't trust herself to be alone with him for that long.

"Suit yourself" he shrugged, grabbing his car keys. He walked towards her, but she didn't move. He stopped as soon as he reached her and saw that her eyes were glued to the wall in front of her. "You look beautiful, by the way" he said quietly to her. It wasn't seductive. It was a compliment. As hard as she wanted to hate it, she couldn't help but like it. But the nice feeling didn't last long. "The things I want to do with you, Miss Gilbert" he said breathlessly into her ear. Every part of her body tensed when those words hit her ear, whether she wanted them to or not. Stefan smirked and let his left hand slowly glide from her shoulder down to her wrist. Her skin was smooth. That did unspeakable things to him. "I'll be right back" he said in a more composed tone.

Elena let out the breath she had been holding when she heard the door shut. Slowly, she turned around and saw that he was gone. That Betty lady was on the phone, not paying her any attention. This was perfect timing to snoop around his office and see if she could find anything.

Slowly, she scanned his shelves, looking for folders with company information. But all she saw were books. Mostly having to do with computer software. Elena made her way around his desk, finding his computer to be on, but his screen locked. "Damnit" she muttered, taking another look to make sure the receptionist was still busy. She was. In fact, she now had her back turned towards Elena. Elena tapped her fingers on his desk out of frustration. Stefan would be back soon and there was no way she would be able to guess his password. That computer probably held everything she needed. And if Stefan was anything like her as a CFO, he probably had the information on his computer at home because he brought work home so often.

Elena made work on going through his drawers, but they were empty except for blank notepads, pens, and various business cards. The drawers that had all the good stuff were of course locked. Elena gave up on trying to pry them open and instead made her way to the far side of his office to another set of bookshelves that looked far more interesting. These held file folders.

Just as she was about to reach for them, she felt a hand grab around her wrist and another hand push firmly against her stomach, effectively pushing her to pin her against the shelf itself. Elena gasped, bracing herself for the impact that was surely to come when she hit the shelf. But it never came. As forceful as he had been, she barely felt herself bump against the shelf. Hell, she hadn't even heard him come back into the room. She felt her breathing increase as she waited for him to say something or do anything more.

He wasn't angry. Actually, he would have been disappointed to find out that she hadn't taken advantage of being alone in his office. That's why he had locked his computer after all. "Why Miss Gilbert" he said, his voice full of interest. "Find anything good?" he asked, continuing to hold her there against the shelf.

Being that close to him brought back the evening she shared with him in the bathroom. This time though, her body wasn't betraying her as much. Probably because it was still in fight-flight mode do to being snuck up on. Elena surprised him with a small smile. "Unfortunately, you arrived back much sooner than I had anticipated" she said, leaning her head back against the shelf.

Damnit. She was cute as hell in her admission to trying to screw him over by snooping through his office. He stepped closer to her so his lips were mere centimeters from her right ear. He could feel her heartbeat pick up. Hell, maybe that was his heart beating rapidly against his chest. "I appreciate your honesty" he whispered into her ear. "But you're never going to get your hands on what you really want" he added, slowly letting go of her wrist and placing his hands lightly on her hips. "I, however, already have my hands on what I really want" he whispered.

Elena felt his lips press lightly against the side of her neck and as soon as he pulled away, her skin was left burning. And she liked it. A lot. Screw the whole trying to find information to take his company out. All she wanted right then was a hot and steamy one nightstand with the man in front of her. She didn't hesitate to place her hands flat against his chest. It was a smart move because feeling her touch him broke some of his confidence in having control over the situation. He had thoughts flash through his mind of just giving her the damn company if she promised to have hot passionate sex with him every night for the rest of their lives. Elena rocked forward on her tippy toes so she could do the same and talk into his ear, much like he had done to her. "If you really want me, Mr. Salvatore" she said, letting her perfectly manicured nails scrape against the fabric of his shirt. She then grabbed the bottom of his ear with her teeth, gently enough to not hurt him but roughly enough to get a reaction out of him. She smiled when she heard him groan and she let go of his ear. "You're going to have to try harder than that" she finished, pushing on his chest firmly so he stepped back. Elena retrieved her jacket from his desk and made her way to the door. She turned around and saw that he was facing her and there was a little more color in his features now.

"Try harder for what?" he asked. She could still hear the catch in his breath. "To get information out of you or to sleep with you?" he clarified.

Elena shrugged her shoulders slightly and tilted her head slightly. "Both" she said, smiling at him. "Have a good evening, Mr. Salvatore" she said before disappearing out of his office, feeling much more confident in her dealing with him this time around.

Stefan's eyes followed her until he could no longer see her. "Damn her" he said, though a gigantic smirk was already appearing on his face. Maybe, just maybe, he had finally met his match.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena quickly locked her front door behind her and stripped off her jacket and kicked off her boots as she made her way to her bedroom. She grabbed a pair of her silky pajamas and went straight for the bathroom, determined to wash away the evening she had had with Stefan.

Once inside the bathroom, she quickly looked into the mirror, craning her neck slightly to see where his lips had touched her. There was no mark, and it was stupid to think there would be seeing as how his lips had only lightly touched her briefly. But why did her skin right there still feel like it was on fire? And why the hell did she want him to put it out by kissing her there again?

She stepped back from the mirror and tugged her dress over her head, followed by her stockings and undergarments being tossed to the floor as well. Elena turned the warm water on and waited until steam filled the room before stepping into the shower. The warm water soothed her, finally giving her some relief. She let the water run over her as she looked down at the wrist he had been gripping when he had caught her in his office. There wasn't a mark there either, though, his intention had never been to hurt her. Even if she didn't know him, there was something about him that told her he wouldn't hurt her. He was safe physically. Emotionally, she wasn't so sure. She wouldn't give him the chance to figure her out emotionally.

Elena finished up her shower and dressed, ready for bed. She checked her phone and saw that Gregory hadn't called her. No surprise.

Falling back into her pillows on her king size bed, she stared up at her ceiling, feeling alone and at a loss for what to do. Stefan was proving harder to get information out of than she had initially thought. She had no plan of action and that didn't sit well with her. She always, always had a plan of action. So what was it about Stefan Salvatore that threw her so off course?

**A/N: I'm starting to think Elena isn't so happy in her current relationship. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well, as we have guessed, Elena is not in the most loving relationship currently. She may be tough as nails in many aspects of her life, but when you are not appreciated by someone who should appreciate you the most, it begins to take a toll on you. I will leave it at that.**

**Reviews and tweets are appreciated. **

It had been a long week at work and the last thing Stefan wanted to do was go to some social event at the Cascade Palace where he would have to socialize with other business men and women who he had no interest in being around. They would want to talk numbers and Wall Street. All Stefan wanted to do was sit in his chair with a cold beer and watch the Seahawks game. He hadn't been to a live football game in years.

But, no. Damon told him it was important that the Salvatores show up at this gathering to make sure everyone knew they were still up and running rather than facing the loss of their family company.

Damon and Bonnie had come to pick Stefan up. Damon had taken a call while Stefan finished getting ready. "What's the frown for?" Bonnie asked, leaning against the doorframe of his room.

Stefan lifted his eyes and saw her in the mirror. He shrugged. "I don't want to go" he said, fumbling with his tie. He hardly ever wore them to work unless he had an important meeting to attend. An open collar was much more his style.

Bonnie smiled as she made her way into his room and turned him towards her. She grabbed for his tie and began helping him with it. "That makes two of us" she said, straightening out his tie and smiling again.

Stefan knew Bonnie was uncomfortable at these types of events. She couldn't talk numbers or business, yet she was so much more intelligent than most of the trophy wives that hung onto their husband's arms. She just really didn't fit in anywhere. But she loved Damon. And for him, she would suffer through another social gathering. "You look nice, by the way" Stefan said, silently thanking her for helping with his tie.

"You look pretty handsome yourself" she said, smoothing out his jacket at his shoulders. He looked down at his feet, never being that great at accepting a genuine compliment. "You're a real catch, Stefan. You should put yourself out there. There's got to be a woman out there who deserves you" she said, smiling one last time before leaving his room.

Stefan sighed. That was the other added bonus to going to these social gatherings. He was single and everyone else had someone to bring with them. "Stefan! We're going to be late!" he heard Damon shout. Stefan sighed again and adjusted his cufflinks once last time. Three hours. He could survive three hours at this gathering.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan pretended to listen to half of the conversations he had within the first 15 minutes he was inside the room. Waiters boasting trays of champagne every time he turned around were his saving grace. Alcohol was definitely needed.

Bonnie and Damon were making their rounds and every now and then, Bonnie and Stefan would make eye contact. Bonnie would make a funny face or point out a big fashion mistake and Stefan would laugh quietly. He really liked Bonnie. They understood each other.

Stefan grabbed for a new glass of champagne when he saw her from across the room. She had just walked in, holding on to that sleazy arm belonging to that scumbag Gregory. Stefan felt his hand tighten around his glass. That man across the room was making his life hell. And to make matters worse, he had Elena. He had it all. Therefore, taking it all away from him was now going to bring so much more delight to Stefan's life.

Gregory grabbed glasses of champagne for both of them and Elena was all smiles as she accepted a quick kiss from Gregory. It made Stefan sick to watch it. It was so fake and obviously for show.

But she looked amazing in black heels that accentuated her long legs. The dress she wore for the evening was appropriate in length and cut, but to be honest, she could have looked amazing in anything. He was sure of it.

It didn't take long for Elena's eyes to settle on Stefan. She seemed somewhat surprised to see him, but quickly recovered by holding up her glass to him and smiling with a slight tilt of her head. He smiled, doing the same. Maybe the night wouldn't be such a waste of time after all.

But then, Gregory's eyes landed on him and an unsettling chill ran down Stefan's spine. The guy was bad news, for everyone. Gregory and Elena were making their way across the room towards Stefan. Stefan kept his eyes on Elena though who looked a little uncomfortable herself. "Mr. Salvatore" Gregory said exuberantly, sticking out his right hand for Stefan to shake. Stefan looked at his outstretched hand with no intention of shaking it. "Okay, I get it" Gregory smiled. "I probably wouldn't be too thrilled to shake hands with the man ruining my company either" he smirked. "You've met my girlfriend, Elena" he said, somewhat introducing Elena. Though, Gregory didn't even turn to look at her.

Stefan smiled and made sure to look at her. "That I have" he said, unable to take his eyes off of hers. He reached his hand out, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips. "Nice to see you again, Miss Gilbert" he said, slowly setting her hand back down.

Stefan looked back to Gregory who seemed amused, but there didn't appear to be any jealousy brewing. "If you'll excuse us" Gregory said, turning and leaving with Elena. More like dragging her, unable to care if she wanted to follow or not.

Stefan frowned. He noticed right away how much less confident Elena had been standing next to Gregory. Her confidence was one of the things he liked the most about her. It was unfortunate that Gregory hindered that in some way.

"Was that Elena with Gregory?" Damon asked, coming to stand beside Stefan. Stefan nodded. "I didn't know they were an item" Damon stated curiously. "I guess you can forget about getting anything out of her then."

But Stefan shook his head as he turned and smiled at his brother. "You know I love a good challenge" Stefan said, giving his brother a slap on the back. "I'm going to grab a snack" he informed, leaving his brother where he stood.

Stefan caught Elena looking at him more than a few times as the night wore on. It wasn't until the music had started and couples moved to the center of the room to dance that Stefan acknowledged her again that evening. All these social gatherings seemed to include some opportunity to dance at some point.

Gregory was across the room, having left Elena on her own. Stefan made his way towards her, grabbing her elbow lightly. "Excuse me ladies. I'd like to steal Miss Gilbert away from you for a bit" he said, giving the three women with Elena a dashing smile that had them smiling and at a loss for words. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the dance floor. If she had resisted, he hadn't noticed. "Can I have this dance?" he asked, stopping and turning towards her. He wasn't going to take no for an answer, but he could tell she wasn't going to turn him down either.

"I'm a horrible dancer" she said, surprising him. It wasn't a no, but it wasn't a yes either.

Stefan smiled, grabbing her right hand with his and placing his left hand against her back, pulling her close. "Stay close to me. I'll do all the work" he said in that flirtatious tone of his. He began moving and she had no choice but to follow.

He was right. He did do all the work and it was effortless to follow him. She actually looked like she knew what she was doing. "Are you enjoying your evening?" he asked quietly near her ear.

Elena gripped his shoulder just a little tighter. "I am now" she said quietly, gazing into his eyes in a way that she knew he would love. And by the way his hand on her back pulled her just a little closer to him, she knew she was right.

Stefan continued to move them as he looked around the room. "Gregory seems oblivious that we're dancing together" he said.

Elena didn't let the comment affect her. "He's not the jealous type" she said instead, trying to hide the fact that she was bothered that Gregory hadn't rushed over to her and pushed Stefan away from her. She knew Gregory had seen them, but he was much more interested in his conversation.

"I see" Stefan said, smiling. "If you were with me, I wouldn't even want another man looking at you, let alone, touching you" he said, locking eyes with her before spinning her away from him and bringing her back in.

Elena came back flush against his chest, her eyes wide with excitement. Maybe that's why she felt attracted to this man. He was exciting, whereas the excitement between her and Gregory had fizzled out quite some time ago. "Mr. Salvatore" she said once they had continued dancing again. "What is it going to take for us to both get what we want?" Elena asked.

Stefan chuckled lightly. "For starters, I think letting the CEO's of our companies make us do their dirty work is a waste of time, for the both of us" he explained. "So, I think we should forget about this whole trying to get information out of one another thing and do what we really want to do" he added.

"And what do we really want?" Elena asked seductively. In all honesty, he had a point. Gregory and Damon were making them do their dirty work.

He smiled, leaning in even closer to whisper in her ear. "Hot, sweaty, mind-blowing sex in my bed." he whispered. "Twice". He smiled again. "Of course, that's just the main event. I think anything that happens before that will be pretty amazing too" he told her, leaning back just enough to see her face.

Yes, that did sound pretty amazing. But Elena kept herself composed, though she really wanted to excuse herself and go to the restroom with the hope that he would follow to relieve that ache she now had. "You sound pretty confident about that" Elena said instead. "And almost … desperate" she added.

Stefan grinned. She was trying to insult him. "I could find some other girl to do all of that with tonight" he told her. He didn't _need _Elena. He did _want _her though.

Elena's face seemed to react on its own accord. She didn't look pleased at all. "There's nothing stopping you" she told him, removing her hand from his shoulder and pulling her other hand from his. She backed away from him and turned quickly to make her way across the room and back outside.

She was jealous, or somewhere close to it. He knew his limits though. He knew how far to push her and when to stop. Stefan looked at Gregory who was still deep in conversation with his fellow business men. That was just fine with Stefan. He made his way across the room and then outside in search of Elena.

Elena was standing with her back to him, watching the fountain in front of her. He approached slowly, not wanting to startle her. "I want to do those things with you, not some other girl" he said, standing just behind her. Elena didn't acknowledge him. He took his jacket off and placed it over her shoulders, knowing full well that she was cold.

He saw her shake her head. "And what do I get out of it?" she asked, turning to face him. She looked determined.

Stefan just laughed. Was she really asking that question? "Well, I think we both know what you will get out of it" he said, smiling even more. "It's a win-win situation for both of us" he reminded her.

That wasn't good enough for Elena though. Not when she had her eye on the prize. If she could be the reason Salvatore Coffee Inc. went bankrupt, she would be a legend in the corporate world. Giving into Stefan sexually was not the end goal and she was a little irritated that he wanted to focus so much on them as bedmates and less on taking each other's companies out. "You know what Stefan?" she asked. "I don't need you to give up information about your company. We can wait you out. It will be a much more painful process for you, but we won't mind watching" she said, slipping his jacket off and feeling prideful that she had once again taken control over the situation. She was getting much better at it with him.

Stefan took his jacket back and looked at her confused. "So, does this mean we aren't having sex tonight?" he asked.

Elena stood close to him as her eyes locked onto his. "I would rather have sex by myself" she told him with a glorious smirk on her face as she passed him and made her way back toward the venue.

He couldn't let her have the last word as he watched her. "Can I watch at least?" he called out. She stopped briefly and turned to glare at him. He was smiling from ear to ear. He was getting under her skin. Maybe that was step one to getting into her pants. She huffed and finally went inside. "Was that huff a yes or a no?" he called again, knowing full well that she couldn't hear him.

Stefan turned back around to look at the fountain, frustrated with how that conversation had gone. He wasn't going to give up. The first chance he got to sleep with Elena Gilbert, he was going to take it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena hadn't heard from Stefan since the weekend before when he had tried to convince her to sleep with him. He wasn't going to trade information for sex, and even if he would, that would make her feel dirty. Though, it was Stefan Salvatore so maybe she wouldn't feel quite so dirty.

"Hey" Gregory said, knocking before entering her office. Elena smiled and closed her document. "Do you have a moment?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course" she nodded, offering him a chair in front of her desk.

"I wanted to ask how it was going with Stefan?" he said and she nearly cringed. The last thing she wanted to talk about was Stefan. "Do you have any information about his company yet?" he asked.

Elena shook her head. "No, he's not giving anything away" she told him, waiting for his disappointment.

Gregory sighed. "Elena, Elena" he said. "I was counting on you to do this" he said, nailing her with his judgmental eyes.

"I know, but really, if we keep taking over their accounts like we have been in our sales department, they will be bankrupt within a year" she reminded him.

Gregory stood. "Yes, but that is a whole year away" he reminded her. "I want them bankrupt by the end of the year" he added. That was less than four months away.

Elena nodded. "I'll figure something out" she assured him. What, she didn't know. "Hey, do you want to do something this evening?" she asked, having a few ideas in mind. Maybe renting a movie and staying in or walking down on the waterfront and taking a ride on the new Ferris Wheel.

Gregory was already on his phone, typing away at an e-mail probably. "I can't tonight" he told her. "Too much to do" he said, turning and walking towards her door. "You know, Elena. You should think about staying late and getting work done. I really don't think you have the time to be out doing something unproductive right now anyways" he said, smiling at her before leaving her office.

Elena frowned, feeling suddenly as though she was not appreciated. She stayed late almost every night and now that she was in fact caught up on work, she had wanted to spend the evening with him. She missed him. Clearly, the feeling wasn't mutual.

Elena logged out of her computer and snatched her purse. She was going to go home on time and enjoy her evening. With or without him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan yawned as he rode in the elevator up to his place. Another late night at the office, only to be up again early the next morning. When the elevator dinged, he stepped off of it and walked down the hall to his place.

He stopped when he saw someone sitting near his door, using the wall to hold herself up. He knew who it was right away. "Elena?" he asked, a small smile on his lips. That was, until he got a better look at her.

"Stefiiiiiiiiin!" she yelled out, holding her arm out for him as she giggled. "I. Have been waiting for you all all all night" she laughed, taking another drink from the bottle of vodka she had. It was over halfway empty.

"You have huh?" he asked, letting himself smile again. She was wasted.

Elena smiled and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall. "I'm lonely" she said, pouting. "I want you to pay attention to me" she added, taking yet another drink and missing her lips. The liquid ran all down her front and she didn't seem to notice.

Suddenly, Stefan didn't feel like smiling much anymore. She was seeking attention in probably not the best condition. "Why don't I take this" he said, grabbing the bottle from her hand and setting it down away from her. Elena giggled again as she opened her eyes. "Come on" he said, grabbing under her arms and lifting her up.

Elena fell against him, grabbing his jacket to steady herself. "You smell good" she mumbled against him as Stefan unlocked his door and helped her inside. He tossed his keys aside and shut the door behind them. "Are you going to get me naked?" she asked, resting her chin against his chest and tilting her head back to look up at him.

Stefan sighed. "No" he told her.

Elena pouted again. "But I thought you wanted to have sex with me" she said, sticking her bottom lip out. She backed away from him, nearly tripping. "I'll … strip for … you" she said slowly, smiling as she pulled on the bottom of her shirt and failed miserably to get it off.

"Under better circumstances, I would be all for that" he said, quickly grabbing for her again and readjusting her in his arms to her walk to his couch. "You are a bit too drunk for sex right now" he pointed out. He tried to set her on the couch, but she clung to his jacket as she straightened herself up.

"I … am not … drunk" she said, taking her time getting her words out to prove her point. She moved in fast suddenly, kissing him hard and awkwardly. Stefan could taste the liquor on her lips and he swore that if she wasn't so drunk, he would have taken full advantage of having her lips on his. But the reality of it was, she was too drunk to know what she was doing. And he was pretty damn sure a kiss from her when she wasn't wasted would be pretty hot.

"Elena" he said, mumbling against her lips as she continued to try and kiss him. "We … we can't do this" he told her. Oh but how he wanted to.

Elena giggled again. "Yeah we can" she said, sounding almost childlike as she did. "I … need this" she slurred slightly, her voice sounding determined though as she went straight for the belt on his pants and attempted to work it loose.

He grabbed her hands quickly, removing them. "No, Elena" he told her firmly, catching her eyes with his. He nearly regretted what he said, because the hurt look she had in her eyes from being rejected was enough to make him hate himself. Rejection was probably the reason she had shown up at his place in the state she was in.

Elena pushed herself away from him, stumbling backwards as she did. "I don't want you either" she said and her voice was filled with so much hate, obviously fueled by the alcohol she had consumed. Stefan reached for her again but she backed up even more. "You don't want me!" she yelled at him and tears ran down her face. Well, that was a change in mood. He almost preferred the happy drunk Elena who wanted to take his pants off.

Stefan finally got a good grip on her arms, pulling her back towards him. "Not like this, Elena" he said more softly, trying to fix what he had broken seconds earlier.

Her tears continued for a few moments as she stood in front of him. "I don't feel very well" she slurred, leaning her head against him.

Stefan held her close, rubbing her back softly. "Why don't you lay down" he told her, helping her to his couch and setting her down. He grabbed the throw blanket off of the nearby chair and covered her. He unzipped her boots one by one and set them on the floor near her.

Then, he peeled his jacket off and unbuttoned his shirt, preparing to sleep on the loveseat across from her just in case she woke up and needed anything. Though, he figured that she would probably be out until morning. He grabbed another blanket and sat down, wondering why she had shown up at his door so drunk. He could take a good guess.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I mentioned that I would have something special for you all in this update because you guys gave me over 100 reviews. Well, I am saving that for the next update, as it fits better. **

**Thank you for your reviews! Keep them coming and enjoy the new update!**

Her eyes were still closed, and she felt like she was dead. Maybe she had died. Her stomach was churning and her head was pounding. Slowly, she forced one eye to open. It was dark where ever she was, and she was not in her apartment. She didn't think. Her hand grasped the cool leather under her and she froze. She didn't own anything leather except shoes and purses.

Elena opened her other eye and sat up some, grabbing for her head and biting her lip to silence the small scream that wanted to escape upon feeling the sharp pain in her head. She looked around her and saw that she was in a spacious living area. She looked to her right and saw that there was someone else splayed out on a much smaller couch. She squinted through her blurred vision and saw that it was … oh God. Stefan. She sat up a little more and began to panic. She lifted the blanket up quickly, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw she was still wearing her clothes. He however was shirtless and the blanket was only covering his waist. Maybe he was naked.

Shit. Why was she at Stefan's? Why did everything hurt? Had they had mind-blowing sex that had left her barely able to move? No. She would have remembered that. Unless … oh. No. Unless she had been drunk. Which would explain the hangover symptoms she was experiencing.

Maybe she could sneak out before he woke up. Slowly, extremely slowly, she swung her legs over the couch and felt them touch the cool floor. She held her head, feeling a wave of dizziness overcome her. "Damnit" she said, a little too loudly because Stefan was waking up. Her eyes were glued to his, wide and full of confusion.

He sat up somewhat quickly, his usually perfect hair a little messy but still sexy as hell. "You're up" he said, determining what he should do. Sit there and stare at her or get her something. "Can I get you anything?" he asked.

Elena shook her head no. "I should go" she said, standing quickly. Much too quickly because she felt like the universe was crashing down on her. Head, stomach, everything hurt and felt lousy. "Oh God" she said, reaching for the arm of the couch to steady her.

"Easy" Stefan said, jumping up to help her. "Lay back down. I'll get you something for your head and your stomach" he told her, leaving her side for a few minutes.

Elena sat back down, cursing herself. She never drank like that and for good reason. She didn't handle her liquor well. "Ughhhhh" she groaned, holding her head. Why couldn't her head just explode and end her misery.

She heard his footsteps returning. "Here" he said, handing her two white pills and a glass of water. He set a plate with dry toast down next to her too. She looked at him skeptically. "Aspirin" he clarified. She swallowed them quickly, taking a big gulp of water. "Dry toast. Good for your stomach" he added. Elena shook her head though. The thought of food made her queasy. "Trust me, you need it" he told her, holding out a piece for her. Reluctantly, she grabbed it and took a small bite.

It was silent for a moment and she felt really uncomfortable. "We didn't … sleep together, did we?" she asked hesitantly.

Stefan smirked and Elena suddenly felt like she had hit rock bottom. Then, he laughed, moving back to sit on his coffee table as he faced her. "You certainly wanted to" he told her, remembering how she had tried to undress both of them. "But alas, I am a gentleman." He saw Elena sigh with relief. "Besides, I want to make sure you will remember our time together, as it would be extremely unfortunate if you had the time of your life and no recollection of it."

Her glare illustrated how much she wanted to smack that smug grin off of his face. Had she been in better shape that morning, she would have too. "You are … despicable" she said, feeling her frustration build. He smiled. He was so good at pissing her off. "And I am leaving now" she added.

"Sure you can walk?" he asked, leaning back and fully exposing his bare chest. It was like a really bright light you knew you weren't supposed to look at, but did anyway.

"No" Elena answered, slowly lowering herself to the floor. She grabbed her boots and struggled to get them on. She finally did though and began to crawl across his living area in search of the door. She glanced at a grandfather clock and saw that it was just past 5 AM. She was going to be late to work if she didn't hurry and get back to her place for a shower.

"Elena" she heard, but she didn't stop crawling. Not until he appeared in front of her, effectively blocking her path. She reluctantly looked up at him and squinted. "How about I give you a ride back to your place and you call in sick" he told her.

She shook her head. "No. Thank. You" she said slowly. "Now move" she said. He didn't of course. "Stefan" she warned.

"You can't even walk and you think you can drive?" he challenged.

Elena sighed. Driving would be stupid. "Fine. Drive me back to my place" she told him, ordering him and being very unappreciative.

Stefan grinned as she moved around him and began crawling towards the door again. "I can help you walk" he offered.

"A chance to put your grimy, sex-obsessed hands all over me?" she scoffed. "I'd rather die" she told him, finding his door and opening it. Stefan laughed as he watched her crawl out of his apartment, probably towards the elevator.

"If I remember correctly, you like to put your hands all over me too!" he called out after her. He found her leaning against the wall next to the elevator, waiting for him and looking awfully miserable. He had his shirt back on as he stepped out of his apartment and locked the door. "You okay?" he asked, not bothering to hide his smile.

She turned her head slightly and gave him a deadly look. "Please just put me out of my misery" she told him.

Stefan chuckled as he bent down and picked her up by her arms, leaning her dead weight against him. "Bet you won't be drinking for a while, huh?" he asked, getting her into the elevator.

"I won't be doing anything for a while" she muttered, leaning her head against him because it wouldn't stay up by itself. Every ding of the elevator as they moved down a floor made her head want to explode. "Take my car" she told him, not wanting to leave it at his place. He could walk back home for all she cared.

Stefan didn't argue as he helped the stumbling girl in his arms to her car. He tried the door and it was locked. "Where are your keys?" he asked.

Elena looked at him wide-eyed as she checked her pockets. Nothing. She peered into her window and saw that they were still in the ignition. "Ooooohhhhhh maaaaaaaaaannnnnn" she whined, letting her head fall against her window. "Could this day get any worse?" she asked.

Stefan plucked a piece of paper off of her windshield and held it up for her. "Yup. You just got a $300 ticket for not having a building parking pass" he told her.

Elena sunk down to the cement and leaned against her car, covering her head with her hands. "I hate my life" she said, banging her head against her car and groaning from how much that hurt.

"That's not going to help your headache" he informed her. She stopped and looked up at him. "Come on, I'll drive you home and you can call a locksmith later" he said, holding his hands out for her.

Elena slapped his hands away and pushed herself to her knees before using her car to help her up. Stefan shook his head as he made his way to the parking garage and she followed a good distance behind. He beeped his car and Elena opened her own door before sliding into his plush leather seat. An Audi. It suited him she supposed.

Stefan started the car and it purred to life. He pulled out and stopped at the exit and waited for her to give directions. She reluctantly pointed to the right and continued to wave her hand to give him directions. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes when she could, feeling nauseous. "You doing okay?" Stefan asked, looking over at her.

"Don't talk" she said, keeping her eyes closed. "Just turn at Harbor Point Apartments" she instructed.

Stefan smirked as he continued to drive. He'd been there, done that before with the drinking. He knew she felt miserable. "I think we're here" he said, reading the sign and turning into the lot.

Elena opened her eyes and grabbed onto the door handle, ready to get out as soon as he parked. When she was out of the car and walking towards her building, she stopped suddenly when she realized he was following. "What are you doing?" she asked, whipping around and glaring at him.

He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and shrugged. "Making sure you get in safely" he said, flashing her one of his smiles.

Elena glared harder. "I'm fine" she told him. "The front desk will let me in."

"Do I get some kind of thank you?" he asked, smiling at her. As miserable as she looked, she still looked completely adorable with her hair all messy and her clothes wrinkled.

"For what, Mr. Salvatore?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "For not taking advantage of me?" she asked with a snarky attitude that he knew was from her not feeling well. And probably from embarrassment too.

Stefan smiled again. "For looking out for you" he told her honestly. He saw her snarky attitude give in just a little. "I hope you feel better" he told her.

Elena slowly nodded, greatly confused by his kindness. She turned around and began making her way towards her building once again.

"Hey Elena?" he asked, causing her to stop. "You said something last night" he said gently, trying to figure out how to lead into telling her what he wanted to ask her.

Elena turned around and threw her hands up. "I was drunk. I'm sure I said a lot of things I didn't mean" she said, almost snapping at him. She just wanted to be left alone.

"You said you were lonely, and that you wanted me to pay attention to you" he told her, studying her as he did.

Elena held his stare for a moment, thinking about what he had told her. "Like I said" Elena told him quietly. "I was drunk."

Stefan understood that part of it. But there was more to her story. "Why were you drinking that much?" he questioned.

Elena grabbed her head, beginning to get frustrated. "Jesus Stefan!" she said. "I had a rough day. Have you never had a bad day and drank to ease the stress?" she asked.

Stefan looked at her again for a moment and saw how upset she was beginning to get. He could continue to question her about Gregory and her relationship with him, but he honestly didn't feel like getting into a fight with her right then. "He's an asshole" he told her. "You don't deserve to be ignored" he added before turning around and going back to his car.

Elena watched him, too stunned by his words to say anything back. Where did Stefan get off assuming she was being ignored? So what if she was. What business was it of his anyways? She turned back around quickly and went towards her building, set on getting a shower and into clean clothes for work. The workday was going to be hell, but the company couldn't afford for her to take a day off. As Gregory had told her the day before, she really had no time to be taking time off. There was work to be done.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan tried really hard to concentrate at work after having dropped Elena off at her apartment. But he couldn't. All he could think about was how she had been lonely enough to go drink and then end up at his place, only to throw herself at him.

What if she had ended up on someone else's doorstep instead of his?

A tap on his door brought him out of his thoughts. "Hey" Bonnie said, letting herself into his office. "I brought you lunch" she announced, holding up a plate wrapped in foil. "I don't want you eating out of the vending machine again" she said with a warning tone.

"Yes mother" he mocked, standing to get his lunch.

She gave him a stern look before cracking a smile. "You look like you had a rough night" she said, noticing that he looked more exhausted than usual.

"You could say that" he told her, thinking about how little sleep he got throughout the night worrying about the drunk girl on his couch. "Can I ask you something?" he asked her. "As in, this is just between the two of us and Damon doesn't need to know" he clarified.

Bonnie could tell he was nervous, so she shut the door and came to sit down. "What is it?" she asked.

Stefan sighed. He was always such a lady's man. The women flocked to him and he really didn't have to try that hard after that. "There's this girl …" he began, but stopped as soon as he saw Bonnie smile with excitement. "Don't get too excited. She hates me" Stefan stated.

Bonnie scoffed. "Who could ever hate you?" she asked.

"This one does" Stefan told her. "So, what I want to know is, what can I do to make her like me?" he asked, feeling like a teenager again. He tried sexual seduction. He tried compliments. He tried being nice to her. He tried getting under her skin. He was running out of options. "It seems like nothing I do works" he said.

Bonnie smiled lightly. "It sounds like you're trying too hard" she said. "Just be you. The real you, Stefan. Be her friend first. I know you are good at that" she winked before getting up. "She'll realize what a great guy you are. Just give it time" she said, giving him one last smile. "I have to go. I have a dance class to get to" she informed him.

Stefan nodded. "Thanks Bonnie" he said. He of course had been hoping for a quick solution, but Bonnie was probably right. Stefan needed to be patient.

Patient while she attempted to take down his company. Clearly, he was a fool.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena put on a lot of makeup to try and cover up her hangover. She kept her door closed and grimaced every time her phone rang. She also had cup after cup after cup of coffee in her process to kick her hangover.

She had also tried to concentrate at work and found it near impossible. What else had she said to Stefan? Had she really told him she was lonely? Because she was, but he didn't need to know that. No one did. Things between her and Gregory would get better as soon as they took down the Salvatore's company. Then Gregory would be less busy and would have more time for her.

Her phone rang out once again and she groaned before answering it. "Elena Gilbert" she said.

"I need you in my office. Now" came Gregory's voice. He hung up without another word.

"Great" Elena muttered. She locked her computer and got up to walk down the hall to his office.

She let herself into the room and saw that he was on the phone again. When he saw her, he dismissed whoever he was talking to. He smiled, inviting her to take a seat. "I just wanted to share with you the good news" he said, handing her a folder. Elena took it and opened it, reading over the documents. She knew what they were. "We just acquired 5% more of the Salvatore's clients. That is a total of 35%. Our sales department is on fire" he grinned. "Seems some people around here are serious about taking down the rival" he said, making a stab at the fact that Elena hadn't gotten any information out of Stefan yet.

"This is great news" she said, setting the folder back on his desk. She wasn't sure why she wasn't happier about it. "Is that all?" she asked.

Gregory looked at her in disbelief. "What do you mean, is that all?" he asked. "This is pretty damn big Elena, in case you forgot" he told her.

Elena sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm just not feeling well today" she told him, grabbing her head to illustrate her point.

Gregory nodded. "Yeah, you look like crap" he told her. "Take better care of yourself. We can't afford for you to be taking time off right now" he said, turning to his computer and typing away at something.

She figured that meant she was dismissed too. She got up and left his office and went back to her own. When she sat down, she rested her head against her desk and closed her eyes. She needed the rest.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So many of you want Elena to dump Gregory! After you read this update, you tell me if you still feel that way.**

**Thank you for your reviews and tweets!**

Elena was in a good mood. Finally. The last two weeks had been rough, though she had stayed away from drinking. Many nights after work involved a long bubble bath instead. But today, it was Friday and she was looking forward to it.

She finished up an e-mail before she got up and walked quickly to Gregory's office, hoping to get to see him for a moment before their board meeting. She waved at everyone along the way which was rare for her, she realized. Probably because she was always too stressed to put in the time to say hello to anyone and to be cheerful.

His door was open so she went right on in. He looked up from his computer when he saw her. "Hey" he smiled, leaning back in his chair.

"Hi" she smiled, walking around the desk to him and giving him a soft kiss. She then sat herself on his desk and looked down at him. "How has your day been so far?" she asked.

Gregory smiled with a small shrug. "The usual" he answered. "Phone calls, e-mails …" he rattled off.

Elena nodded. That sounded familiar. "So what are you doing tonight?" she asked hopeful.

Gregory sighed, clearly missing her invitation that she was silently offering him. "Poker with the guys" he said, leaning back in his chair some more. "We've got business to discuss, but they thought it might be nice to discuss it over a few hands of poker."

Elena felt the disappointment hit her instantly, especially in her chest. "Oh" was all she said.

Gregory smiled. "I haven't spent time with them outside of the office in ages" he told her, grabbing her hand. "They've been hassling me about it for a while now" he told her.

Elena nodded. What else could she do? "I should get ready for our board meeting" she told him, standing back up. "Have a nice time tonight" she said, refusing to look him in the eyes. Gregory just nodded as he went back to his computer.

Elena left his office feeling stressed and upset, everything she had not wanted to feel that day. But she was going to have to push all of those feelings aside since she would be in a board room full of men for the next three hours.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan had taken Bonnie's advice. He hadn't seen Elena in a few weeks, choosing to avoid any get-togethers she might attend. He had needed time to think about how to befriend her, but he hadn't really come up with anything. It seemed awkward to call her up and see if she wanted to go get coffee. Even a sucky boyfriend counted as a boyfriend. She also probably would have hung up on him anyway since she wasn't very happy with him at their last encounter.

So he threw himself into his work and ignored Bonnie's opinion about it and Betty's constant nagging that he worked too much. Finally though, it was Friday and he was determined to find some way to relax. Renting a movie and grabbing a pizza sounded like the ideal plan.

"Mr. Salvatore" Betty said, poking her head into his office.

Stefan smiled. "I know, I know. It is six and time to go home" he said, shaking his head as he grabbed his bag and stood to follow her out.

"And what will you be doing with your evening?" she asked as they walked.

"Renting a movie and eating pizza. Care to join me?" he asked her, grabbing the door for her.

"Oh, no Dear" she said, kindly rejecting his offer. "I have my bridge club with the ladies this evening" she explained.

Of course. How could he have forgotten about her Friday bridge club? "You have fun" he told her, opening her car door for her when they reached the parking lot.

"Oh I will. Us old ladies have a lot to talk about" she smiled, getting into her car. "You enjoy your weekend. I'll see you Monday" she told him.

Stefan waved goodbye to her before retreating to his own car. He turned up the radio as he drove off, debating on what kind of movie he wanted to watch. Horror? No. He wasn't in the mood. Romance? He didn't want to watch that alone. Comedy? That was a safe choice.

He wandered around the video store, looking for something interesting. But here was the tough call. Did he rent a new movie or pick an old favorite? He ran his finger over the older movies in the comedy section, looking for something to catch his eye. Nothing so far.

"You escaped the office too" he heard, making him turn to face her. She smiled, almost shyly, as she looked at him. She wasn't sure how he would react to her.

"Sometimes you have to break the CFO rules and leave work on time" he told her, a small smile of his own forming. "Movie night for you too?" he asked.

Elena shrugged. "I was thinking about it" she said. It was a shame though because it was such a beautiful night in Seattle. Completely clear with all the stars visible.

Stefan wondered if she was picking up a movie for her and that unmentionable CEO ass she was "dating". But the look on her face, that lonely look she had, told him that Gregory probably wasn't going to be with her tonight.

He needed to be her friend. That was what Bonnie had told him. To be himself and to be Elena's friend. So he was going to put himself out there. "Do you want to go walk down by the water, maybe take a ride on the new Ferris Wheel down there?" he asked. He was fully expecting her to say no, but at least he had offered to hang out with her. Hanging out with her was a lot better of an option than watching a movie alone.

She needed to say no. She was with Gregory and clearly, tonight was not about getting information out of Stefan about his company. She just didn't feel like doing that. Tonight would be about getting out and enjoying an evening she deserved.

Gregory had made other plans, so why couldn't she? She deserved a good time, and she had been secretly wanting to ride the Ferris Wheel on the waterfront for some time. "Okay" she said.

"Yeah?" he asked, cursing himself for letting his surprise be known. That made him look desperate. "You, the famous CFO in Seattle, are agreeing to hang out with me?" he asked for clarification. His added sarcasm got a genuine smile out of her though.

"Clearly, I have lost my mind from all the overtime I have been putting in at work lately" she told him, showing him that she could be sarcastic too. "I do have one rule for tonight though" she added.

"I'm listening" he said, giving her his full attention.

"Tonight, we're not CFO's from rivaling companies" she stated. "Tonight, we're just Stefan and Elena. Otherwise, things are bound to end in disaster" she finished.

Stefan nodded. "That sounds excellent" he told her. A whole evening of not having to worry about how he was going to keep his company afloat. "Shall we?" he asked, holding out his hand and allowing her to walk in front of him.

With every step Elena took, her guilt and uncertainty of spending time with Stefan slowly faded. She deserved this evening. "Follow me" Elena said, hopping into her car. Stefan shook his head and smiled as he got in his car. Her confidence was back. He liked that.

They parked downtown where all the other people were parking to ride the Ferris Wheel and taking in the various nightlife activities. She noticed right away that they both looked silly, still dressed in their business clothes when most everyone else was in jeans. "I know the best place to eat" Stefan told her as he got out of his car.

"Lead the way then" Elena told him. She fell to his side, keeping up with his pace as he led the way. She noticed that he wasn't taking out his phone and checking e-mails. That was … new for her.

The daylight was fading slowly and she wouldn't dare think about being down there by herself at this time. Gregory had never liked to walk around downtown much. He would much rather drive from place to place.

Stefan didn't hesitate to navigate the various streets and the water was always in sight no matter where they walked. "Do you come down here often?" he asked, breaking their silence finally.

Elena shook her head. "Not at this time of the evening. I mainly come down here on Sunday mornings and watch the ferries and fishing boats come in" she told him. She liked to grab a cup of coffee and stare out at the water. There was something so relaxing about it. "We don't have a harbor like this where I'm from" she added, which probably was the reason she was so fascinated with it.

Stefan looked over at her as they waited for their crosswalk light to turn green. "You're not from around here?" he asked. He didn't know why that would surprise him. He hardly knew anything about her.

"I'm a Virginia girl" she informed him. "I moved out here when I took the job with Gregory" she added. She had helped him build the company.

Stefan nodded. "I know he gets all the credit for the company's success, but I bet you're the brains behind the entire company" Stefan said, carefully choosing his words and wondering why they were discussing work. No one was protesting though so maybe it was okay.

Elena smiled. She would agree to that statement. "What makes you think that?" she asked as they continued to walk.

Stefan grinned. "Two Master's degrees at the age of 25" he reminded her. "One in business and one in accounting. That's a bit intimidating" he said. He had done his research.

"Intimidating?" she asked. She was hardly that in a world of business dominated mostly by men. "Not many people see me that way."

Stefan grinned again, this time letting her see. "The smart ones do" he replied. "You are very intelligent Elena. That's something I admire about you."

Elena laughed. "I'm having a really hard time deciding if you are being genuine right now or playing me" she told him.

Stefan stopped, causing her to stop too. "Maybe one day you won't have to ask yourself that" he said, giving her a small smile. The amused look she had on her face faded slowly. "Come on. The place I was talking about it right up here" he said, pointing.

Elena nodded and followed him again, thinking about what he had said. She didn't get complimented on her intelligence much. Mainly just her looks and who she was dating. As she continued to ponder this, she looked for a restaurant that he was planning on taking her to. She didn't see one though. Only the hotdog stand they stopped at. She eyed the cart with the man behind it and laughed. "This?" she asked.

Stefan smiled. "I am promising you, this will be the best meal you will have ever eaten in your entire life" he told her. Elena rolled her eyes. "We'll take two of your specials" Stefan said, pulling out his wallet and grabbing some cash. Elena let him pay because clearly, this was not going to be worth paying for. She hadn't eaten a hotdog since she was a kid. Elena stood there and watched the man behind the cart load up the hotdog with over half a dozen different items. Ketchup, mustard, onions, cheese, chili, relish, pickles, bacon bits, and finally, crushed potato chips. There was no way she was eating that. Stefan grabbed both hotdogs. "Pick out a bag of chips and a drink" he instructed, carefully grabbing his own.

When they had everything they needed, Stefan led them back across the street to the water. They sat down, letting their legs hang down over the water. "This looks …" Elena began, not sure what else to say.

"Just try it" he encouraged, pulling back the foil on his.

Elena slowly peeled back her foil and cringed when she looked at it. Slowly, she took a small bite, making sure to get all of the toppings as she did. She chewed for a moment, waiting for the nasty taste to hit her taste buds. It didn't happen. "Oh my gosh" she said instead. "This is … surprisingly amazing" she finished.

"I told you" he said smugly. "I found that little stand a few years ago and if the food was any good for me, I would probably eat there every day" he smiled, trying his own out. Elena took another bite and he was glad she had liked it so much.

"So, besides eating at a hotdog stand, what else does the famous Stefan Salvatore do?" Elena asked, pushing some of her hair behind her ear so as not to get it in her hotdog.

Stefan smiled. "I like going to sporting events around here when I get the chance" he answered. "Sometimes I like staying home and reading a good book. When I can get away for the day, I like to go hiking or surfing on the coast" he added.

"Wow" Elena said, grabbing for a napkin. "You're pretty active then" she added. Gregory complained if he had to walk across a parking lot.

"I try to be" he shrugged. "What about you? What does the famous Elena Gilbert do?" he asked, repeating her question to her.

Elena smiled. "I love going to concerts and trying new restaurants" she told him, trying to think of the last time she did any of those. "I also like to do yoga and swim when I get the chance" she added.

"What kind of concerts?" he asked, balling his foil up and opening his drink.

Elena smiled. "I love all types of music" she answered. "Bon Jovi was the last concert I went to" she added.

"I love Bon Jovi!" Stefan said, maybe a little too excitedly. "I missed it the last time" he added with a bit of a pouting frown. He had had to work.

Elena smiled, realizing that she was enjoying her time with Stefan. Who would have thought? Just talking was turning out to be something she had really missed doing. "Maybe next time" Elena told him, taking the last bite of the hotdog. She sighed, completely full. "That was seriously one of the best things I have ever eaten" she said. "Thank you." Stefan smiled and nodded.

"You're welcome" he told her.

"And thank you, for being a gentleman a few weeks ago when I showed up at your place completely drunk. It really is nice to know there are still guys out there who would turn down a drunk girl and let her sleep it off instead" she added. "I don't do that … show up at random guys' houses like that … I … just had a really rough day that day" she explained.

"You don't have to justify anything to me" he told her.

She felt like she had needed to though. Because the last thing she wanted was for him to think she was that kind of girl. "Still. You could have slept with me. Hell, you could have used my drunken state against me too."

Stefan looked at her, his face serious yet genuine. "I don't want to sabotage you, Elena. Or hurt you, in any way. My only intention is to save my company" he told her. Elena saw that he did look genuinely serious about his claim and it made her feel so guilty, she had to look away. All she was concerned about was taking away his livelihood. Yet here she was, enjoying her evening with him. She was seriously screwed up. "But like I said. Tonight, we don't have to be CFOs" he told her, trying to lighten the awkward mood that had settled on them. He stood and grabbed his chips and drink. "Ready for the Ferris Wheel?" he asked.

Elena slowly nodded. "Yeah" she said. She needed to take her mind off of the fact that they were still rivals. Enemies, practically.

The line was fairly short and before they knew it, they were being guided on, taking a seat next to one another. She was well aware that his arm had gone around the back of their chair, his hand brushing her back as it did. He was smiling too, which was nice. It wasn't until they were up at the top that she felt the flutter in her stomach. Heights made her nervous, yet she loved them at the same time. She looked over the side and then sat straight back.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She looked really rigid.

Elena nodded quickly. "Yeah, I just umm … I'm a little bit afraid of heights" she told him. She took a deep breath, trying to relax. Why weren't they coming back down yet? Hadn't everyone at the top gotten a good look yet?

Stefan's arm moved around her as his hand rested on her shoulder. He pulled her closer to him as his free hand grabbed one of hers. "Just look straight ahead" he whispered into her ear. She swallowed hard, but managed to nod. Now she was pretty sure she was more nervous about how close he was to her. Because it did things to her. "Better?" he whispered again, having no intention of trying to turn her on, but figuring it wouldn't hurt if his innocent act of kindness did that to her.

Elena nodded. "Thank you" she barely got out. She held her breath until the Ferris Wheel began moving again, going around a few times before stopping to let them off. Elena got off first, not wanting to be sitting next to him any longer.

He noticed that but said nothing. "You should have said something. I wouldn't have taken you up there if I had known you didn't like heights" he said, walking beside her as they made their way back to their cars. He really didn't want the night to end, but it appeared that she did.

"I have been wanting to ride it for a while now" she told him. "So, I'm glad you took me on there" she said, smiling.

When they found their cars, they awkwardly stood between them, wondering how to say goodnight. "I had a nice time tonight, Stefan. Thank you for dinner and the Ferris Wheel" she said, looking down at the ground because she could feel his eyes on her.

"I enjoyed my evening with you" he told her. "It was nice to learn a little more about you" he added. "Maybe we can do this again sometime" he said, hinting that he wanted to see her again.

She couldn't see him again. Could she? "Yeah, maybe" she said, smiling for him as she looked up at him. "Goodnight Stefan" she said.

Stefan looked at her for a moment, noticing how beautiful she really was. Inside and out. It was a damn shame she was with someone else who didn't appreciate her. Against his better judgment and Bonnie's advice, he reached his arm out around her back and pulled her against him, cupping her face with his other hand and bending down to kiss her. She was tense, but hadn't protested. Slowly, he felt her lean against him more comfortably and begin to relax. Her lips tasted like vanilla, probably from the chap stick he had seen her put on earlier. He could kiss her all night and he was mad as hell that he couldn't. Reluctantly, he slowed his lips and let her go. Her face was flushed and she was breathing harder than she had been. But she looked satisfied. Surprised, but satisfied. "Goodnight, Elena" he whispered with a knowing smile as he opened her car door for her. He shut it once she was in her car and retreated back to his car.

Elena started her car up and smiled as she replayed the kiss in her mind. Sure, it was wrong. She had a boyfriend. But that kiss had been amazing. The whole night had, really. She turned her head to the left and saw him in his car, looking at her. He waved to her and she felt herself blush. The bastard knew the effect he had had on her and was enjoying it. Elena waved back before putting her car in reverse and backing out. He followed, eventually turning.

Elena looked in her rearview mirror and sighed. She was so screwed. But happier than she had been in a while.

When she got home, she kicked her boots off and went to see if she had any messages. She had one from earlier that day when she had been at work. Her face lit up with a smile when she heard her brother and her aunt's voices coming from her machine. "Hey Elena!" they both said.

"I hope you had a wonderful birthday today" Jenna's voice said. "I know you're at work right now, but give me a call when you can. Gregory is probably taking you out tonight? Call me when you get home. I love you" Jenna said.

"Yeah, Gregory better get you something really nice for all those hours he makes you work!" Jeremy's voice yelled into the machine. "Hope you have a great birthday."

"We love you. Call us!" Jenna said before the machine cut off.

Elena frowned. She had had a pretty great birthday, but it wasn't because of Gregory. In fact, Gregory had forgotten.

The person who had made her birthday special … was the man whose life she was trying to destroy.

**A/N: Yeah … Gregory is definitely boyfriend of the year. Jerk.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I really like this update. I hope you like it as well. Let me know what you think. I go back and forth with these two (Stefan and Elena). It can be confusing I think, but it also illustrates that they are confused too. Life doesn't always make things easy for us, does it?**

Monday morning came fast. Despite the fact that her boyfriend had forgotten her birthday, her weekend had gone pretty great. She had spent hours on the phone on Saturday talking with her aunt. She had been vague on what she had done on her birthday. Her aunt, Jenna, didn't care for Gregory that much and she would have had a lot to say had she known Gregory had forgotten her niece's birthday.

Sunday, Elena stayed in her yoga pants and baked. Cupcakes, to be precise. It was about the only thing she could make successfully.

But Monday was here and Elena knew she had to muddle through the day. Gregory would be gone from the office, downtown in meetings. But of course he would leave her a stack of files with a sticky note, stating they needed to be looked over and signed by the end of the day.

Because Elena obviously did not have more important things to do. And she really did not want to do her CEO any favors, seeing as how she was mad at him. She glared at the pile and shoved it aside before opening her e-mail. The 30 new e-mails she had would keep her busy for at least the next hour alone.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan had taken the morning off to go and visit someone he hadn't been to see in a while. Yes, he could blame it on work. But really, he could only blame himself because he didn't make time. Actually, he avoided making time.

He felt his hands get sweaty as he entered the immaculate building, though he was greeted by the front desk staff with friendly smiles. They knew him and his brother well. "Mr. Salvatore" the woman smiled, standing to shake his hand. "It is so good to see you."

Stefan forced a polite smile. "I'm here to visit if that is okay" he said, feeling even more nervous.

"Of course" the woman said, waving over another woman. "This is Mr. Salvatore" she introduced. "Mr. Salvatore, this is Susan. She will fill you in" she explained, returning to her seat behind her desk.

"Right this way, Mr. Salvatore" Susan said, leading him down a brightly lit hallway. "She has had a pretty rough week. So we adjusted her medication and she is having a much better morning today" she informed.

Stefan nodded. "So there really has been no change?" he asked, his voice lost with hope.

Susan shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Salvatore." They stopped in front of a door. "If you need anything, just pick up the phone in her room" she said, giving him a small smile before leaving.

Stefan took a deep breath and grabbed for the door handle. Then he stopped. Maybe he should come back next week. Yes, he could do that. He began walking back down the hall, then stopped.

No. He needed to go in there now. Stefan turned around and walked back to the door. "One. Two. Three" he whispered, opening the door slowly. He peeked his head in and saw her sitting at a small round table, reading something.

She turned around to see who was there. An enormous smile slowly appeared. "Stefan?" she asked, her face full of recognition. She stood, barely able to believe that he was standing in front of her.

"Yeah, it's me" he said quietly, ashamed that he had neglected to see her for so long. He came in and shut the door behind him.

She walked quickly towards him, grabbing his face and getting a good look at him before kissing his cheek. "My baby boy" she said, relieved and excited at the same time as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Hi, Mom" Stefan said, slowly wrapping his arms around her to return her hug. "How are you?" he asked.

She quickly pulled away from him, her face turning cold and alert. "They're trying to poison me" she said, her eyes going wide. "My soup. They're trying to put chemicals in my soup to kill me here" she told him, speaking a bit quicker now.

Stefan's heart sank upon hearing her. This was why he avoided coming to visit. Because it was just too hard. "Mom, no one is trying to hurt you here. Damon and I did all the research and this facility is the best of the best" he told her sadly.

But she shook her head. "They only tell you what you want to hear, Stefan" she informed him, beginning to pace. "They don't want me here. They want to poison me. I need to get out of here. You'll take me home with you, won't you?" she asked, her speech so rapid that he could barely follow her.

"Mom, I can't take you home with me. We tried that, remember?" he asked her. She just shook her head though and continued pacing. "No one is trying to poison you here. I promise you" he tried to convince her.

She stopped suddenly and looked off to the side. "I know. He doesn't believe us" she said, talking to someone else. Not to Stefan. "I know, I know" she said, shaking her head again and starting to pace once more.

"Mom" he said, trying to get her back. Trying to get her to listen to him and not the voices.

"You don't believe me!" she yelled suddenly, pointing her finger at him and giving him an angry look. "You're on their side!" she yelled again. "Just get out. You just get out!" she continued to yell. She turned her head again and tilted it as if she were listening. "He doesn't. He doesn't. I don't know why he doesn't" she said, nearly crying.

"Mom" Stefan said again, this time grabbing her arm gently.

She yanked it away from him. "Get out!" she yelled at him. "Get out! Get out! Get out!" she continued to yell.

Stefan felt his chest tighten with anxiety and hopelessness. He couldn't be in there anymore and was already heading for the door to let himself out of the room. Once he was in the hallway, he ran his hand through his hair, taking small breaths to try and calm down. That. That right there was why he was afraid to come and visit her. He could still hear her yelling as he walked away from her room. It wasn't until he was outside that he felt some sense of relief.

Yet, the one person who he loved more than anyone, was someone he barely knew anymore.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The first person Stefan ran into when he came back from visiting his mother was Damon, who looked none too pleased. He stood outside of Stefan's office with his arms crossed. "Conference room. Now" Damon said sternly before turning and walking away.

Stefan scowled and put his bag in his office before retreating sulkily towards the conference room where his brother was waiting. As soon as Stefan shut the door behind him, Damon went off. "You went to see her?" he asked in disbelief. "How many times have I told you! You are only making it worse for yourself!" he yelled.

Stefan got defensive really quickly. "She's our mother" Stefan spat. "In case you had forgotten" he added for spite. Damon hadn't been to see their mother in quite some time. He sent birthday and holiday gifts, but he never called or visited.

"Don't pull the mother card on me" Damon said angrily, shaking his head. "She hasn't been her true self in a long time" Damon reminded.

"So because she's sick, you're just going to toss her aside?" Stefan asked angrily. "Is that what you would do to Bonnie? If she got sick, would you just send her away and ignore her?" he asked.

"Don't do that Stefan" Damon said in disgust. "Don't make this about me. I did what was best for this family. I did what was best for her" he reminded.

"How can you say that?" Stefan asked in disbelief. "She's surrounded by strangers. You don't ever talk to her. Maybe us isolating her is making her worse" Stefan argued. "She deserves better" he said, shaking his head angrily.

Damon stepped dangerously close to his brother, his eyes full of even more anger. "Better?" Damon practically yelled. "She's the reason we are going broke. She's the reason our company is failing right now!" Damon yelled.

"Don't blame her!" Stefan yelled back, shoving Damon and completely losing his cool.

Damon regained his balance and pointed his finger at his brother. He would not get into a physical fight with Stefan. Not in the office. "I only agreed to the experimental treatment and studies because you wanted it, Stefan" Damon reminded, trying to calm himself down before he did or said something he didn't want to. "And now what? Five years later and we are dangerously close to losing our company and she's not any better" he told his brother spitefully. Stefan couldn't refute that because it was all true. "I've got too many other things to worry about" Damon said, walking towards the door. He stopped though and looked at Stefan. "Every time you go to see her, you end up getting upset. Don't do this to yourself anymore Stefan. Move on with your life" he told him, opening the door. "And we just lost a bunch more clients. If you don't figure something out, Stefan, we'll both be out of jobs and Mom will be in a much worse place than you have her now" he said before leaving.

Stefan let his shoulders sag as he stood alone in the room. Everything his brother said was logical. But she was their mother and giving up on her felt wrong to Stefan, even under the circumstances. And if their company went under, her level of care would drop significantly.

Stefan was well aware that they were losing clients left and right. New clients were nonexistent because Gregory's Coffee had been very proactive in bringing in new clients before Stefan and the marketing team could even make an initial move.

Stefan needed to do something and fast. If he couldn't get clients back, reality was going to hit soon and hard for him and his family. Maybe it was time to see Elena again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena emerged from her building an hour after she was supposed to be off of work. She had been stuck doing paperwork. Not that she was complaining. They had acquired quite a few new clients recently, including new ones and some of the Salvatore's as well. She didn't let herself feel guilty about it. As CFO, she had to shut off her feelings to muddle through the work. The business was growing financially and because of that, more jobs were being created. It was a win-win for everyone except Stefan and his brother.

Gregory's Coffee was still no Starbucks, but for a private company, they were doing extremely well. Thanks to her, she reminded herself.

It was dark outside already, but the maintenance staff had made sure the parking lot lights were on for her. She had her keys ready before she exited the building so she could go straight to her car and get in. Though, she didn't have to worry.

Because Stefan was outside waiting for her. He was leaning against her BMW, arms crossed, and an amused look on his face. She faltered for a moment before regaining her confidence and continuing to move toward him. "Stealing my clients and taking all the new ones too" he said with another amused smirk. "Busy few days" he told her.

Elena smirked back. "I know how to do my job, Mr. Salvatore" she said, beeping her car and grabbing for the door handle to throw her stuff inside. Sure, she wasn't part of the marketing team. But they worked closely together to give new and current clients the best, financially.

Stefan stepped in her way though, effectively blocking her from entering her car. It had surprised her. Clearly, she was not dealing with the same Stefan she had a few nights ago on her birthday. He appeared to be all business at the moment. 'I know about the models you have created. You know, the ones that built up your company and the ones that are continuing to keep you and your company financially secure" he said. Elena just looked at him, somewhat interested in where he was going with this. Yes, she had created financial models and cost analysis strategies. Others were aware of her models and strategies, but she never shared them with anyone. Not even Gregory. They were hers and she wasn't about to let anyone else take credit for them. She would take them to her grave.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I use standard models that we all learn in school" she shrugged. "I'm just very good at how I read them" she added.

Stefan's smirk faded slightly. He leaned in closer to Elena. "And I am very good at reading people" he told her. "You're lying" he informed.

Elena crossed her own arms. "You buy me dinner one night and then accuse me of being a liar the next?" she asked. "I'm somewhat offended, Mr. Salvatore" she told him.

Stefan glared at her. "You and I cannot hang out if you are going to be the reason my company fails" Stefan reminded her. "There's no reason both of our companies can't thrive. We're on the same side. Both of us are trying to keep from being overshadowed by Starbucks and Tully's Coffee" he reminded her.

"Careful, Stefan. I hear desperation" Elena told him with amusement.

Stefan groaned. This was so much more difficult since she was a girl and he had the hots for her. "You are so frustrating" he told her, running his hand through his hair. "If you were a guy, I would have punched you already" he informed her.

Elena raised an eyebrow, even more amused. "And since I'm not a guy, what are you going to do instead?" she asked, almost daring him to try something else. It was kind of exciting, actually, to see him get so flustered. She didn't know him well enough to predict what he would do.

Stefan gave her a hard look for a moment before moving in fast. "This" he said suddenly, cupping her face with his hands and capturing her lips with his. Her arms immediately fell down, finding the side of her car to steady herself as he pressed her back against it. Her shoulder bag hit the ground with a thud which either of them noticed.

When she regained her senses almost a minute later, she grabbed ahold of his jacket, wishing she could get it off. His shirt too. It had been a long, long time since she had seen any action in the bedroom and she blamed this on how much she wanted Stefan in the middle of the parking lot at that moment. His lips left hers and she had to bite her own lip to keep from whining her displeasure with this. His lips were kissing her neck before she had time to realize his change in tactic. His lips felt amazing, as always.

Her damn coat was in his way, so he simply used his hands to pull her closer to him, rather than letting them wander. Based on the change in her breathing, he knew he had her right where he wanted her. "Show me your financial models" he whispered huskily into her ear.

Elena's eyes were closed tight and only he could make that sentence sound sexy as hell. "No" she breathed out, eyes still shut as his lips attacked her neck repeatedly. As soon as she said no, his lips let up, placing small, light kisses here and there. "Stefan, no" she barely whispered, tugging on the sides of his jacket in her attempt to get him to do what he had been doing before. Those small butterfly kisses weren't good enough.

"Just one model" he said into her ear. "So I can get my company up and running again. I won't tell anyone" he told her, as his warm breath fell against her neck, warming her even though it was rather cold that night. "It will be our little secret" he added, and that statement was loaded with so many meanings that Elena nearly lost her mind.

Stefan felt Elena shake her head no and he knew she was treading a thin line between staying in control and wanting to give up simply because he was too irresistible. "I … I can't" she told him.

"Yes, yes you can" he encouraged as he kissed her ear lightly.

In a moment of weakness, Elena let her forehead fall against his shoulder and he could tell by her posture that was done being seduced. Something had changed. "If your company improves financially, he'll fire me" Elena said, loud enough for only them to hear. And she would be nothing without her career – without the company she built. It was all she had.

Stefan sighed and wrapped his arms around her in a more comforting manner. Like a friend might. Yes, he had a soft spot for Elena and her worries, even if he had initially planned to be the big bad CFO coming to seduce her for her brilliant financial strategies. His brother would disown him if he knew what had just happened. "If he truly loves you, he wouldn't do that" Stefan said, knowing in fact that Gregory didn't love Elena like she wanted to be loved, but also hinting at the fact that Gregory wouldn't fire her if he knew what was good for his company.

Elena laughed at his comment as she pulled away from him. His hands lingered on her sides for a few moments before they fell. Love was such a stupid word, especially when it was associated with a romantic relationship. Elena shook her head and looked up at Stefan. "He forgot my birthday. Hell, he doesn't even know he forgot it and it has been three days" she told him. Why was she telling him this? For pity? No.

Because someone needed to know and Elena couldn't bring herself to tell anyone else.

Stefan looked at her with a mix of empathy and confusion. "When was your birthday?" he asked.

Elena looked away from him, not wanting to see him when she told him. "Last Friday" she answered, wondering how they had gone from a heated make-out session to talking like old friends who could share anything. It was strange yet comforting at the same time.

Realization hit Stefan instantly. "You were with me that night" he reminded her. Elena still didn't look at him. "Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

"Because I didn't want to be harassed about my lousy boyfriend forgetting my birthday" she said, a bit on edge. It obviously was a sore subject for her, even if she didn't like to admit it. "I wanted to have fun. And I guess spending the evening with you was better than watching a movie by myself" she shrugged.

Stefan watched her fidget for a moment. Why did she put up with Gregory? "I've said it before, and I'll say it again" Stefan said. "You don't deserve this, Elena" he told her honestly.

Elena shook her head as she finally looked up at him. "Our relationship is what it is" she shrugged. "I'll have to accept that sooner or later" she told him. Elena heard the quiver in her voice and decided it was time to end the conversation. She didn't need to let Stefan see her get emotional. "Look, I'm sorry about your company. But I can't help you" she told him. Elena bent down and picked up her bag. "I need to get home."

Stefan watched her for a moment before slowly stepping away from her door so she could get in. When she was inside her car and had started it, he tapped on her window. Reluctantly, she rolled it down. "Don't accept that, Elena" he told her. She refused to look at him, but he could tell she was listening. "Drive safe" he told her. "And, happy birthday" he added.

Elena still didn't say anything so he backed away from her car so she could leave. As he stood there and watched her drive off, he realized that Gregory's Coffee wasn't the problem. Elena was.

Because Stefan couldn't choose between saving his company or saving her.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning at work was slow for Stefan. Each day, he had less and less numbers to crunch. Damon was right. They were screwed.

He watched the computer as profits fell and drank the cup of coffee he had made at home and brought with him. Damon always had a fit when Stefan purchased coffee from someone else. Though, Stefan thought it would be an excellent idea to get the local coffee stands to serve Salvatore Coffee. Damon had never wanted to do business with them because of the small profit involved. Stefan figured that now, anyone willing to sell Salvatore Coffee was worth doing business with.

He would worry about that later. Right now, he had a Solitaire game to finish on the computer. Stefan went to work on trying to win his game when his office door opened. He quit the game without even saving it for fear that the person who was about to come in was his brother. Damon didn't appreciate Stefan playing computer games at work.

Luckily though, it was just Bonnie. She wouldn't care. "Hi" she said, letting herself in. She wasn't her normal perky self, but she gave him a soft smile anyway. "Damon told me the two of you got into an argument yesterday" she said, taking a seat in the chair in front of his desk.

"An argument, huh?" Stefan asked. "I guess you could call it that" Stefan shrugged.

"I think we all know an argument between the two of you can become pretty heated" Bonnie said. "Want to talk about it?" she asked. Stefan shrugged again. "It might be hard to see, but Damon is having a pretty hard time with what has happened to your mother" she told him softly. "He can be a real ass about it so he doesn't have to admit he is hurting."

Stefan smiled. "You ever think about being a therapist?" he asked her.

"I think I have my work cut out for me with just the two of you" she told him with a small grin. "But seriously, Stefan. I don't want you to deal with this alone. You can come to me anytime to talk. You know that" she said.

Stefan sighed. "I'm fine" he said, standing and walking to her side of the desk. Bonnie stood too.

Bonnie pinned him with a knowing look. "You're not fine, Stefan" she told him. She had gotten extremely good at reading him. "It's okay to let people know that" she reminded him.

Stefan just nodded, figuring he couldn't change the subject on her. "Thank you, Bonnie" he told her. "I just don't really feel like talking about it right now" he said honestly.

"Okay" she smiled, understanding what he needed. "The next time you go and visit your mother, I'll come with you if you want. For support" she added.

"I appreciate that" Stefan told her, holding out his arms and bringing her into a hug. How his brother had ended up with such a great girl was beyond Stefan. "You're the best, Bonnie" Stefan added, kissing the side of her head before letting her go. "Do you have time to get an early lunch?" he asked.

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm grabbing breakfast with Damon" she informed him. "And I don't suppose you want to go" she grinned, knowing those two stubborn boys hadn't worked things out yet.

"Next time" Stefan said, sitting down on the edge of his desk.

"Behave yourself" Bonnie told him, shooting him a knowing smirk before she retreated out of his office.

Stefan shook his head with a smile before going back to his seat. Bonnie was the best.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was just after lunch when Stefan's bright idea of the day hit him. He sat at his computer, typing away. He was grinning from ear to ear.

What was the best way to even the playing field between the Salvatores and Gregory's Coffee? Finding a way for Gregory to lose some of his clients and some of his customers. And just how would Stefan find a way to make that happen? He grinned as he continued to type.

Stefan just might have known someone at the Seattle Times who would be willing to write an article on his behalf if Stefan gave him the details.

Of course, whatever Stefan wanted written in the newspaper could not degrade the CFO of Gregory's Coffee in any way. Stefan's goal was to hit the company overall.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena nearly jumped when her door came crashing open and an angry Gregory came in, slamming the door shut. "Hi, what's …" she began, only to have a newspaper dropped smack dab in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Gregory nearly yelled. "What's wrong is those damn Salvatores!" he screamed at her. Elena flinched at his harsh tone, but looked down at the newspaper anyway. "I have a feeling Stefan is behind this" Gregory said angrily, running his hand over his face.

"So why are you yelling at me?" Elena asked with her tone of voice clipped. She wasn't the one who had written the article nor had she supplied the fake information for it either.

"Because!" he snapped at her. "You were supposed to take care of Stefan. You were supposed to use him! Get the information we needed to end him once and for all. And now, I wake up and read this bullshit?" he asked. "What the hell happened Elena?" he yelled again.

"I don't know, Gregory. But you're treating me like I helped Stefan write this!" she yelled back, tossing the newspaper at him.

This only seemed to infuriate him more. "He said there was a report that we had rats in our warehouses and rat droppings were being mixed in with the coffee beans and then ground up!" he said angrily. "We've been getting calls all morning with customers and clients freaking out! Do you know what this does to our reputation?" he yelled some more.

Elena shook her head. It was a low blow to have such lies printed for everyone to read. She had no doubt in her mind that it was Stefan behind it. "It's not true though" she reminded Gregory more calmly.

"Don't be so stupid Elena" Gregory spat at her. "A story like this? It doesn't matter if it is true or not. When it comes to health regulations, people will believe anything!" he said angrily, kicking the chair in front of him. "This is on you Elena. Fix it!" he screamed at her before storming out of her office.

Elena stood, visibly shaking she was so upset. Stefan Salvatore had crossed the line. And she was going to make sure he knew it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan dodged his opening office door as someone in a fury came bursting into his office. He smiled when he saw Elena. "Well hello Miss Gilbert" he said, standing in front of her. She was breathing hard and looked angry as hell. "You didn't happen to read the newspaper this morning, did you?" he asked smugly.

Elena's response was to shove him. He caught himself, but was a bit alarmed by her strength. "You" she said through gritted teeth as she pointed at him. "Are a complete asshole" she finished. "What the hell were you thinking? Making up lies for your own gain?" she asked angrily. "Do you know how hard our lawyer is going to come down on you?" she asked, raising her voice even more.

Stefan surprised her when he smiled. "I'm touched, Elena, that you would be concerned about me" he said, placing his hand over his heart for added effect.

He was trying to be cute and she wasn't in the mood. She moved forward again to shove him, but he caught her arms. "You are not funny!" she yelled at him, attempting to yank her arms out of his grasp. She was successful on the second attempt, gaining enough momentum to shove him back against his shelf. "You screwed everything up!" she yelled at him.

"I did what I had to do to keep my company alive" he shrugged. "I have no regrets. Besides, I only reported what I heard" he told her.

"It's a lie and you know it. We don't have rats!" she yelled.

"Come on, Elena. This really has nothing to do with you. It hurts Gregory more than anything" he reminded her. He had mentioned the CEO a lot in the article. About how he was covering up the rat problem.

"Nothing to do with me?" she asked, her voice full of built up emotion. He saw the look in her eyes change suddenly. "I got screamed at for 15 minutes, over something that had nothing to do with me" she told him, on the verge of tears. Because she hated being yelled at, especially by someone who was supposed to love her.

Stefan's eyes narrowed as he listened to her. "What do you mean?" he asked. His article had nothing to do with Elena.

Elena realized she was giving into her vulnerabilities and she couldn't let Stefan witness it. "Nothing" she told him, throwing her hands up and turning to leave. Damnit, she was frustrated.

"Hold on" he told her, pushing on the door before she could escape. She whipped her head around and looked at him in shock. How dare he shut the door on her like that. "He screamed at you?" Stefan asked in disbelief. He had chosen to write about the rats because it had virtually nothing to do with Elena. So why the hell had Gregory come down on her? His marketing team would be the ones needing to do damage control.

"It doesn't matter, Stefan" she said, seeing that he looked genuinely concerned about the way Gregory had handled the situation with her.

Stefan let go of the door and shook his head. Stefan should have known Gregory would unleash his anger on Elena. He should have been able to guess he would. But Stefan hadn't. His plan, while it was working as far as tarnishing the company, had hurt Elena. He hadn't wanted to do that. "He and I are going to have a little chat" Stefan said, his expression unreadable. Though, Elena thought she detected a bit of anger. "That son of a …" he trailed off.

"No" Elena said, shaking her own head. "Don't blame him" she said harshly. "You're the one who wrote that bogus article" she said, turning it back around on him.

He just stared at her, wondering why on Earth she would try and defend Gregory. It was so … sad. The last thing he wanted to do was pity her, but the hold that Gregory had over her was pitiful. "I'll recant the story. For you" he told her finally. If that would get Gregory off of her back, he'd do it. He could always find another way to sabotage Gregory's company.

Elena sighed. "You're not going to do it for me" she told him. "You're going to recant your story because it is the right thing to do" she corrected.

Stefan opened his mouth to argue with her, because he would most certainly not recant his story because it was the right thing to do. But his office door opening interrupted him and surprised Elena. "Stefan that was brilliant" Damon said with a proud smile across his face. His smile faded when he saw the woman standing with his brother. "I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?" Damon asked.

Stefan ran his hand across his face as Elena stood uncomfortably next to him. "I going to go now" Elena said, avoiding both of them as she slipped out of the door.

Damon watched her leave and then looked curiously at his brother. "Anyone I should know?" he asked Stefan, crossing his arms.

Stefan sighed. "Elena Gilbert" he answered.

Damon's eyes widened and then he laughed. "That's Elena Gilbert?" he asked in disbelief. He had seen her before, hanging onto the arm of that CEO Gregory. "The CFO is dating her CEO?" he asked for clarification.

That question alone made Stefan's blood boil. "If I remember correctly, I'm still not talking to you" Stefan said, choosing to ignore Damon altogether.

Damon chuckled. "It is going to be pretty damn hard to get this company up and running again if we aren't speaking" Damon informed his younger brother. "You can start by apologizing to me for making you go out to dinner with her. Clearly, it wasn't as bad as you thought it would be" Damon smirked. Stefan groaned. He did not want to get into this with his brother. "You can also tell me why Miss Gilbert was in your office" he smirked. Then, he pulled out a newspaper and held it up for Stefan to see. "Was it because of this brilliant article you had submitted to the Seattle Times?" Damon said, grinning as big as he could. "You, my brother, are too damn amazing for your own good" Damon praised. "We've been getting calls left and right about clients and customers wanting to come back to us or do business with us" he continued. "You'll have to crunch the numbers. I'm sure we won't be in the safe zone anytime soon, but it is a great start."

"I'm recanting the story" Stefan said, interrupting his brother. He looked down at the floor, preparing himself for what was to come.

"I'm sorry, you're what?" Damon asked in disbelief. "Did you not hear me? I told you your story worked in our favor" he reminded.

As brilliantly as Stefan's plan had been, it had also backfired on him. "I heard you" Stefan told him. "What I did was wrong. We need to earn clients and customers back through honestly" Stefan told him.

Damon scoffed. "We need to earn back customers and clients period, Stefan. I don't care how you get them" Damon told him.

But Stefan new if he let the story continue, Gregory would continue to treat Elena horribly. Even though he had only known her a few weeks, he couldn't let that happen. He genuinely could not stand the thought of Elena being miserable because of something he did. "I'll find another way" Stefan grumbled before he walked back to his desk.

"Don't be stupid, Stefan" Damon warned. "I don't know what Elena said to you before I walked in, but it's not worth it" he told him. "She's not worth it." With that, Damon let himself out, leaving Stefan to ponder those last few words.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan let himself into the headquarters of Gregory's Coffee and was surprised at the lack of security that late at night. It was nearly 8:00 PM. But Elena's car was in the parking lot, so he figured she was working late. Like he should have been doing.

He smiled and nodded to a few of the cleaning staff as he walked through the building. He looked at the directory at the reception desk and saw that Elena's office was on the third floor. It was a large office and Stefan thought it must have been crazy inside during the workday.

When the elevator reached the third floor, he quietly walked down the hall in search of her office. All of the office doors were locked except the one at the end of the hall where he could see light filtering through. He could hear tapping on a keyboard as he gently pushed the door open some.

Elena's head popped up and her eyes looked concerned, as if he had startled her, which he had. He saw her let out a small breath, though her eyes remained cautious of his presence. It wasn't like he was expecting her to run and jump into his arms, but such an uncomfortable encounter was a bit disappointing for him. "Can I come in?" he finally asked.

Elena pinned him hard with her gaze, a clear warning that he was not welcome. "I'm busy" she informed him.

Stefan nodded. She probably was. "It will only take a minute" he said, waiting for her to formally invite him in. He heard her sigh as she cleared documents off of her desk and stuck them in a filing drawer.

"Make this quick" he said, waving him in. She had at least another two hours of work to get done. She might as well just spend the night in her office.

Stefan let himself in and shut the door, not that there was anyone else in the building. He stood in front of her desk and waited a few moments until she looked up at him expectantly. "I need to apologize for writing that article" he began. "And while it had the outcome that I was looking for, it caused you to get into trouble and the last thing I wanted was for my actions to be taken out on you" he told her.

Elena shook her head. "I'm not upset. I'm angry" she clarified.

"He had no right to scream at you like that" Stefan told her. "Does he do that often?" he asked, being nosey but not caring. It was important to know whether or not Gregory yelling at her was a common thing.

"Excuse me?" she asked, feeling herself getting riled up. "That is none of your business" she told him, trying her best to keep her anger at bay. Because he did yell at her frewuently, usually about work.

"I'm making it my business" Stefan stated defiantly. "He's a waste of your life Elena" Stefan told her, not caring that he was angering her right then. She needed to hear it.

"I love him, Stefan!" she said, raising her voice at him as she stood. Nothing else mattered because she loved Gregory.

"He doesn't love you!" Stefan said, raising his voice right back at her. Instead of the anger and stubbornness he was expecting, he saw that she looked genuinely hurt by his words. Deep down, she had to have known that Gregory didn't love her like she wanted him to. Maybe she had just never let herself believe it until now.

Elena's eyes became glossy with tears that she refused to let fall in front of him. "I've already been told today how stupid, and worthless I am" Elena told him with such a heartbroken voice that he felt guilty for the way he had handled that conversation. "So congratulations. You've made it clear that I fail at everything I try to do" she said, on the verge of tears. She walked towards the office door, willing herself to make it to the bathroom before she broke down in tears from all of the stress that she had let build up that day.

Stefan ran his hand through his hair, unsure of what to do now. Now that he had made her feel so bad.

By the time he moved, he couldn't see her anywhere in the hallway. He went in search of the bathrooms and when he pushed the women's door open, he could see and hear her crying as she sat on the floor with her hands covering her face.

The normally strong, well put together CFO was a mess of tears on the floor of a bathroom. She didn't let people see her cry very often. She would never live to hear the end of it if she did. "Elena" he said, beginning to feel helpless now.

"Just go" Elena told him, wiping at her tears.

Stefan slid down the wall, sitting next to her. "Maybe I'm wrong" Stefan said gently. Probably not, but maybe. "All I know is, when I see you alone, without Gregory, you have this natural confidence, like you can do anything" he explained. "But when you're with him, it disappears. And that is so unfortunate because you are so smart, and so creative. And the business world needs that" he added.

Elena used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe at her eyes. "Are you just saying that because you made me cry?" she asked, half joking and half not.

Stefan smiled and shook his head no. "No. I'm saying it because it's true" he told her. He turned towards her, grabbing her chin gently. Because he wanted to kiss her.

Elena got the hint as she looked up at him. He had to stop this. It was confusing her. She loved Gregory, but there was something about Stefan that was drawing her towards him. "If I help you and your brother, will you leave me alone?" she asked. Her focus needed to be on her relationship with Gregory. It needed work, like every relationship did. She couldn't make it better with Stefan following her everywhere. It would only cause problems in the future.

Stefan stared at her, deciding not to kiss her. He could tell that she was asking him to back off, and she was willing to give him something in return, too. But that wasn't good enough. Nothing would be.

"No" he answered. She was about to reply to this, but he continued talking. "You should get home. It's late and the security staff is gone" he said, going into his naturally protective mode. He stood up and grabbed a tissue to hand to her. "Again, I'm sorry for the trouble I caused" he said, giving her one more apologetic look before leaving the bathroom.

Elena watched him until the bathroom door closed after him. "You have to" she whispered, using the tissue to dry more of her tears.

He stayed until he saw her get into her car and drive off. Someone had to watch out for her. It wasn't supposed to be him.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: AHHHH! Vampire Diaries is back this week. Who is ready for Paul and Nina to do what they do best? I am!**

**This update is short, but it is needed I think. Thank you for reading!**

Dinner for Bonnie and Damon was typically on the same schedule every week. On the weekdays, Bonnie cooked because Damon was working. On the weekends, Damon cooked because Bonnie didn't want to. They sat at their small table which was much more comfortable for them than their large dining table they brought out for larger dinner parties or holidays.

They talked about everything and Bonnie was usually the one to carry most of the conversation because she was such a talker. Though, Damon could carry the conversation when he wanted to. But on this particular evening, Damon was quieter than usual. "Everything okay?" she asked, dangling her fork between her fingers. "You're kinda quiet" she added.

Damon sighed. "I'm fine" he told her. "I just think my brother has a thing for Elena" he mentioned. There was just something about the way Stefan was looking at Elena when Damon had walked into Stefan's office a few days back. And then the way Stefan had been so quick to jump to recanting that article. It had something to do with Elena and Damon knew it.

Bonnie's brown eyes instantly brightened. "Who is Elena?" she asked, containing her excitement. She was definitely interested.

"The CFO of Gregory's Coffee" Damon said with almost disgust. "AKA, the reason our company is going under" he added, playing with the food on his plate.

Bonnie smiled. Not because her fiance's company was going under, but because her fiance's brother quite possibly had a love interest. And it was about time. "How did Stefan meet Elena?" Bonnie asked. "I can't imagine they would want to hang out together, being rivals and all" she said, taking a bite of her vegetables.

Damon groaned, remembering exactly how his brother met Elena. "I asked him to have dinner with her so he could find out just how she was running her company financially" Damon answered.

"Ah" Bonnie smiled. "You told your brother to use her for your own benefit and he ended up falling for her" she clarified for him.

"He's not falling for Elena" Damon corrected. Falling for someone meant a whole lot more than just casual sex, which is probably just what Stefan wanted. "Have you heard from Katherine lately?" Damon asked, completely switching the conversation.

"She e-mailed me yesterday" Bonnie answered. "She's doing very well in New York" she added.

Damon smiled. "CEO of her own fashion company" he said, pondering Katherine's success. "She's got spunk. I think that's what Stefan loved about her" Damon smiled.

Bonnie sighed and shook her head. "Don't go there. Not again" Bonnie told him. "Katherine is my good friend, and I love her to death, but she has her own thing going now and there is no room for the kind of relationship Stefan wants" she stated.

"Stefan really liked her" Damon pointed out. The entire three months they had dated.

"And I'm sure Katherine liked him too. That's not my point" Bonnie told him. "Katherine works in New York. She works an 80 hour week. She's not interested in settling down and committing to a relationship."

"Have you asked her?" Damon asked.

"Why would I do that?" Bonnie asked, setting her fork down.

"Because you girls talk about that stuff, and stuff" Damon replied.

"And why are you so interested in Katherine and Stefan hooking up again?" Bonnie questioned. The short few months Stefan and Katherine had dated a few years back had been okay, but Bonnie could tell that Stefan wanted more. And Katherine just wasn't interested. They hadn't really broken up because they had never really been a couple.

Damon shrugged. "Just looking out for my little brother is all" Damon replied, resuming with his dinner.

Bonnie eyed him suspiciously. "Leave it alone, Damon" Bonnie warned him. Katherine had no interest in coming back to Seattle. And Stefan was interested in Elena, it seemed.

Damon smirked. "Yes Dear" he smiled, taking another bite of his dinner. Bonnie just shook her head, reminding herself that there were so many other reasons why she loved Damon. She didn't have to love everything about him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Gregory knocked on Elena's door and waited for her to answer. When she did, he pulled out an elegant bouquet of flowers from behind his back to give to her. "I'm sorry" he said, giving her an apologetic smile. "I've been an asshole lately" he added. Elena crossed her arms and stared at him. Yes, she was still mad at him for the way he had treated her the past week regarding the article Stefan had written and then recanted. "Come on, Elena. Don't be mad" he nearly whined. "I love you" he tried again, giving her a small smile.

Elena didn't cave yet though. "You treated me horribly" Elena told him.

"I know I did" he told her, moving forward and wrapping his arms around her. "I've been so stressed lately. I didn't mean it" he said softly.

Elena sighed and felt herself slowly forgive him. "I forgive you" she said finally.

Gregory let go of her almost instantly. "Good" he said, handing her the flowers. "I have someplace to be, but I wanted to run something by you" he told her, inviting himself inside of her apartment.

Elena sighed. "What?" she asked. Their moment had been cut short yet again.

"So you know how the Salvatores wrote that bogus article about us?" he asked.

Elena did not like where this was going. "We're not making anything up to publish in the newspaper" Elena told him. Besides, Stefan had recanted that story and her company had done a great job of winning customers and clients back.

"No, of course not" Gregory said, waving her off. "We need to find something on the Salvatores. Something real and something that will give their customers and clients something to be concerned about" he told her. "I hate the term, blackmail, but if we have private information that the Salvatores would hate to have exposed, then, we can stop them from plotting anything more to try and hurt us" he explained.

"Gregory, let's just keep doing what we are doing and leave them alone" Elena told him, thinking back to that night when Stefan had come to her office to apologize. When Stefan had seen her at her almost worst and still, he had been so kind to her.

Gregory narrowed her eyes at her. "I thought you were on my side" he said. "Has something changed?" he asked, straightening up some.

She caught his warning gaze and then shook her head no very quickly. The last thing she needed was Gregory thinking she had a soft spot for the Salvatores, especially one of them. "It sounds like a plan" she told him instead.

"Good" he smiled. "I'll need you to do some digging on the Salvatores and see what you can find. Something very private and something they definitely don't want people to know about" he told her. "You start on it and I will follow up with you next week. I have to go" he said quickly, kissing the side of her cheek.

"Bye" Elena barely got out before the door closed. She sat down on her couch and played with her fingers. She didn't want to go digging around in Stefan's life. She wanted to leave Stefan alone. She had pretty much told him to leave her alone.

Her phone ringing grabbed her attention and she sighed when she saw who was calling. "Hi Aunt Jenna" Elena said, trying to sound thrilled to be speaking to her aunt.

"Well hello to you too" Jenna said sarcastically, picking up on her niece's foul mood almost instantly.

Elena smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm just overwhelmed. But happy that you called" she told her.

"Overwhelmed with what?" Jenna asked.

"Everything" Elena sighed, falling back on her couch and closing her eyes. "Work is really stressful right now because we're acquiring more accounts" she explained.

"And how are things with Gregory?" Jenna asked. That was her biggest concern.

Elena had never been one to lie to her aunt. But sometimes, a little white lie never hurt anyone but the one who told it. "They're good" Elena said. "We're both busy, but we're doing great."

"Uh huh" Jenna said, sounding unconvinced but letting it go. "I just called to hear your voice and to tell you that your brother's computer software design made it into the finals. He'll be presenting it at local universities in the next few weeks."

Elena smiled. "I'll call him later and congratulate him" Elena told her. Jeremy was so smart. He would be following in her footsteps soon to join the corporate world.

"Good" Jenna told her. "I have to run. I have to get some studying done at the library" she explained. "I'll call you tomorrow" she assured her.

"I miss you" Elena said, feeling her eyes well up. That was one of the hardest parts about being in Seattle. She was so far away from Jenna and Jeremy.

"I miss you too, Elena" Jenna told her. "And I love you. Take care of yourself, okay?" she asked.

Elena smiled. "I will. Talk to you tomorrow" she said before hanging up.

Elena turned on her side and stared at her T.V. She wanted to be home in Virginia with her family. Not planning a way to dig dirt up on Stefan and his company.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Earlier that day, Stefan had received a phone call from the facility his mother was living at, stating that she had been doing much better since he had been in last and that she wanted to spend the day with her children. Damon of course had refused, but Bonnie had stepped in.

So here he was with Bonnie and his mother, at a local park feeding the ducks. So far, so good. His mother actually seemed like the mother he had known his whole life. She was pleasant with Stefan and Bonnie and even engaged in friendly conversation with people passing by.

Yet Stefan was on edge, waiting for his mother to have one of her outbursts. As he stood back and watched her, he felt Bonnie place her hand on his shoulder. "You can relax Stefan. She's doing really well" Bonnie told him softly.

Stefan nodded. "I know" he agreed. "It's just … the last time I saw her, she was fine at first too. And then she freaked out on me" he explained.

"Go and talk to her" Bonnie encouraged, giving him a friendly shove forward.

Slowly, Stefan approached her, though he thought her focus was on the ducks. "Thank you for taking me out today" she said, throwing another piece of bread.

"You're welcome" Stefan told her quietly.

"Bonnie is such a nice girl" his mother smiled, throwing another piece of bread. "When are you going to find yourself a nice girl like that?" she asked, turning to face him.

Stefan felt himself blush slightly. His mother was asking him about his dating life. It was refreshing, yet awkward. So he just shrugged. "There's someone I kind of like" he told her.

His mother smiled. "Well tell me about her Stefan" she told him, giving him her full attention.

Stefan laughed. She was just as direct as he remembered. "She's really smart" Stefan started out with. His mother seemed to appreciate that. "She's beautiful too. But she's not interested in me" he added, not bothering to hide his disappointment from his mother.

She smiled and reached her hand up, touching his face. "Who wouldn't be interested in you?" she almost laughed at him. "You are such a wonderful young man. Handsome too" she winked at him.

"You're my mom. You have to say that" he told her, finding it oddly comforting to be having this interaction with her.

"No" she said, shaking her head. "This girl. If she knows what is good for her, she will come to her senses" she told him. Then, she turned back to the ducks and began feeding them again.

"Thanks Mom" Stefan smiled, turning and watching the ducks with her.

An hour later and Stefan figured it was time to head back. He hated to end the nearly perfect day they had had, but he also knew that he needed to get his mother back in time for her medication. "Are you ready Mrs. Salvatore?" Bonnie asked, touching her shoulder gently.

"Ready for what, Dear?" she asked, looking curiously at Bonnie.

"To go back to your room" Bonnie replied, looking up at Stefan with concern.

Stefan's mother shook her head and her stare became deadly. "Don't let her do this to me Stefan" she told him, almost pleading with him. "She's behind this, isn't she?" she accused. "She's the reason Damon won't speak to me and the reason I can't live with you!" she said, raising her voice.

"Mom, Bonnie has nothing to do with any of that" Stefan said calmly. He grabbed her arm gently. "Come on, it's time to go" he said quietly.

"No!" she yelled. "They want to kill me there. Bonnie wants me to die. She wants me to die!" she continued to yell as she gripped Stefan's jacket desperately.

Stefan looked at a terrified Bonnie standing next to him. "Go wait in the car" he told her. Bonnie simply nodded and Stefan could see that she was about ready to cry.

"That witch wants me out of the picture!" she accused. "Stefan, she wants to replace me. She wants me dead so she can replace me!" she yelled, backing away from Stefan.

"Mom, don't do this" Stefan pleaded. But it wasn't like she had any control of it. Of her thoughts. Not anymore. People were starting to stare. This was what he was afraid of. That she would freak out while they were in public. "Let's just get you back home …" he tried to tell her.

"Stop it!" she screamed, grabbing her head and stepping away from him. She closed her eyes and began to cry. "Stop it! Stop it!" she continued. "Leave me alone. Just leave me alone!"

Stefan felt himself begin to panic as he watched her. He had to get her out of there. "Mom, come on" he said, grabbing her, ready to guide her to the car.

"Make the voices stop!" she screamed, resisting Stefan's assistance. "Make them stop Stefan! I'm not crazy, make them stop!" she yelled, breaking down in tears as she fell to the ground.

Stefan knelt down next to his mother, putting his arms around her to try and comfort her. "It's okay, Mom. It's okay" he said, trying to keep calm and be supportive. It wasn't working. His mother was still in full-on freak-out mode and he was scared as hell.

When Stefan looked up, hoping to see Bonnie coming back to help, he froze.

Because standing frozen in front of him, was none other than Elena Gilbert, observing one of the Salvatore's biggest family secrets.

**A/N: Uh oh. What will Elena do with this?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: A warning … it is kind of a short update, but I just got some more homework from a professor so I need to get going on that. To make up for the shortness, I made it 95% Stefan and Elena : )**

**As always, let me know what you thought.**

She couldn't move. And nothing ever affected Elena so much that she felt frozen, unable to think or react. But this. This did her in. The only other time she could ever remember feeling this way was when her aunt had taken her into the kitchen and numbly told her that her parents had died in a car accident. She had been 17. Her legs had felt like rock and her chest felt heavy. Nothing had been running through her brain. She simply just felt … frozen. In time and in place.

Which is how she felt in this exact moment. The vulnerability in his eyes, when they had made contact with hers, hit her fast and hard. Her eyes scanned back to the woman on the ground, wrapped in Stefan's arms and desperately trying to get away from him. Mom. He had called her his mom.

The pain he felt was seeping out of him and she was absorbing it finally. She wanted it to stop. All of it. His pain. The familiar feeling of loss she was experiencing having lost her own mother. It all needed to stop.

Elena forced her eyes to look anywhere but at them. At him. People had slowly gathered to watch and she didn't know whether to get out of there or tell them all to leave. Stefan was clearly blocking them out in his attempt to help the helpless woman before him.

She could just walk away. It would be the easy choice.

But Elena didn't do easy. She never had. She did what was right. Gregory may have wanted her to do wrong for personal gain, but that wasn't who she was. Stefan's voice cut through her thoughts, forcing her to look at him again. "Mom" he kept saying.

Her feet moved at their own accord, towards him and his mother. Stefan's eyes looked fearful as she knelt down beside them. She had no idea what she was doing, but maybe doing something was better than doing nothing. "Mrs. Salvatore?" she asked, softly yet firmly.

Stefan's mother immediately stilled, having heard her name. Her proper name.

"My name is Elena" she said, remembering from her corporate training that introducing yourself was a way to interrupt a crisis. "I'm a friend of Stefan's" she continued, swallowing past the lump in her throat. Because really, what kind of friend was she?

Stefan's mother stared at Elena's feet, her breathing still coming in short pants, but she was no longer screaming or crying.

Stefan stood stalk still, unsure of what to do. Having Elena that close, offering him her help, was unnerving.

"Can I help you in some way?" Elena asked.

His mother shook her head and grabbed ahold of Elena's wrist tightly. Elena was surprised, but did not panic. "I don't want to go back there. I don't want to" she said, continuing to shake her head. "Tell my son not to take me back there. I'm not crazy. They think I'm crazy but I'm not" she said, looking up at Elena finally.

Elena saw the fear and confusion in this woman's eyes and it broke her heart, because she could see it in Stefan's eyes too. Elena nodded. "How about Stefan takes you for a drive? Maybe around the lake?" she suggested.

Something seemed to resonate with his mother and she nodded her head. A smile appeared. "I want to go for a drive. I want to see the lake" she said, letting go of Elena's wrist and pushing Stefan away from her, standing on her own.

She began walking towards Stefan's car and Bonnie got out to help her. But Bonnie's eyes were on Elena and Stefan.

Elena looked nervously at Stefan who looked nervously at her. She wanted to say something, but what, she didn't know. A single tear had slipped from his left eye and she saw it. He stood quickly before Elena could react.

So he left her kneeling where she was and didn't look back once.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was close to five hours later when Elena showed up at his apartment. She told herself to just stay away, but for some reason, she couldn't. She stood at his door, preparing herself to knock.

"You must be Elena" she heard, causing her to turn towards the voice.

Elena had recognized the younger woman from earlier that day. The one who was with Stefan and his mother. She now had a brown paper bag, presumably filled with food, and a coffee. Elena nodded after a moment or two. "Yes" she answered. "How do you know who I am?" Elena asked.

Bonnie smiled softly. Because my almost brother-in-law has the biggest crush on you she wanted to say, but didn't. "Stefan has mentioned you a time or two" Bonnie said instead. Though her words gave nothing away, a faint grin had, but Bonnie composed herself quickly. Elena stared at her curiously, wondering just what Stefan had said about her. "Are you here to see Stefan?" Bonnie asked, coming closer. Of course she was.

Elena nodded nervously. "Yeah, I was just going to check in with him" Elena said, as if it were no big deal. It was though. She hardly knew Stefan, yet she was concerned. It had taken her almost a year to develop those same feelings of concern for Gregory.

Bonnie smiled. Stefan had been pretty quiet by the time they had made it back to his place. They had driven around the lake before dropping his mother off. Why they had taken a drive around the lake, Bonnie didn't know. But they had. When they did arrive back at his place, she had offered to go and pick up something for dinner, though she knew he probably wouldn't eat. "Come in" Bonnie said, walking towards his door and opening it. "I'm Bonnie, by the way" she threw over her shoulder.

Elena hesitated before following the woman, shutting the door behind herself. His apartment was dark, much like it had been that morning she had woken up, completely hung over on his couch. In fact, she could see the very couch she had passed out on. She could visualize where he sat as he gave her something for her head and toast for her stomach. Elena wondered if it was always so dark in there.

Elena lost sight of Bonnie as she came further into the apartment. She was too busy looking around to notice Stefan appear and she nearly collided into him. Luckily though, he had grabbed ahold of her wrists, steadying her. "There you are" Bonnie said, stopping when she saw the closeness between Stefan and Elena. "Food is on the kitchen counter" she said cautiously.

Stefan nodded, but didn't look at her. "Thanks, Bonnie" he said, keeping his eyes locked on Elena's.

"I'm going to go" Bonnie said, still watching the two in front of her. "If you need me, you'll know where to find me" she added. As she turned to leave, she stopped suddenly. "It was nice to meet you, Elena" she said, causing Elena to break her eye-contact with Stefan and look at her politely.

"Likewise" Elena murmured, still being held by Stefan's intense gaze and his hands wrapped around her wrists.

When the front door shut, indicating that Bonnie had gone, Stefan finally spoke. "What are you doing here?" he asked. His question was neutral. He was neither angry nor happy to see her. Then, something in his eyes changed. They went from neutral to accusing in a matter of seconds. "Are you looking for more on my mother? To give the story you're going to publish more depth?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in on her.

She felt the sting from his accusation and instantly pulled away from him. Well, tried. He wasn't letting go. "I came to see if you were alright" she said with bite in her tone as she glared up at him for not letting her go.

A disbelieving laugh escaped from him. "And I'm supposed to believe that?" he asked her. "We caught some stupid little intern from your company in our building, snooping around" he told Elena angrily. She looked at him with confusion though. "And believe me, money got him talking fast about what he was doing there" he told her.

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked harshly. Sure, Gregory's Coffee had interns, but who had sent one to the Salvatore building, and why?

"Stop playing stupid, Elena!" he almost yelled, raising his voice at her. "He told us that you guys are looking for dirt on our family to hold over us" he informed her, though he was sure she already knew that. Which, she did. And she felt guilty as hell for it in this moment. "You think you and your pathetic little CEO boyfriend can blackmail us?" he asked, moving his face closer to hers. "We will go to great lengths to protect the ones we love, Elena. You make sure and tell your sorry excuse of a boyfriend that when you see him next" he nearly growled out.

Elena gave him one good angry shove, but it didn't even knock him off balance. She didn't even care. She was mad as hell. At him. At Gregory. At herself. "You're right!" she yelled at him. Gregory wants something to blackmail you with!" she admitted.

He didn't know whether he was angry or satisfied with her for admitting it. Gregory finding out about his mother was a serious problem though. Family drama did not need to be all over the news. "If you utter one word about what you saw …" he warned.

Anger flashed through her eyes. How dare he threaten her like that. "What Stefan? What are you going to do to me if I tell Gregory?" she asked him angrily. Fresh angry tears made their way down her cheeks and she yanked one of her arms away from him to dry them. Gregory hated it when she cried. It was a sign of weakness and he reminded her time and time again that if she showed any weakness, people would take advantage of her.

Stefan watched her as he felt his anger slowly dissipate. The experience with is mother in the park earlier had done nothing for him but make him out to be some monster right there in front of Elena. He was tired and angry, but most of all, hurt and scared. Elena was right. What could he do to her? He watched her chest rise and fall as she worked to compose herself. "Nothing" he whispered. "I won't do anything to you" he told her. She stopped crying momentarily as she forced herself to look back into his eyes. He was a completely different person standing in front of her now. He wasn't angry and accusing. He was scared. Scared about a lot of things, she was sure.

He looked so broken and it made her feel broken inside too. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay" she said quietly as her voice cracked.

His eyes softened only slightly as his thumb caressed the underside of her wrist that he was still holding. Ever so slowly, he stepped forward, effectively closing the small gap that had remained between them. Her breath caught in her throat from him being so close so suddenly.

Stefan's hand slowly slipped around her back, pulling her even closer to him. His other hand found the side of her face and gently stilled there. Finally, his head leaned forward ever so slowly, resting against hers. Elena closed her eyes, allowing herself to experience his close proximity after such intensity moments before. "I don't remember what it's like to be okay" he whispered. She barely heard him, but she had. His words hit her chest painfully, because she too couldn't remember what it was like to be okay. It was a scary feeling. His thumb caressed her cheek slowly before he lifted his head from hers and moved a piece of hair behind her ear. Then, she felt his hand move to her hip and his face settle into the crook of her neck. His warm breath on top of him breathing her in was enough to inform her that very bad things that were going to feel extremely amazing were going to happen.

She took a shallow, shaky breath in as she tried to focus on anything but his hands touching her and his lips waiting near a sensitive spot on her neck. "I don't remember what it's like to be okay either" she told him softly. She wondered why that came out of her mouth instead of something along the lines of her having to go home or that what was about to happen was wrong.

But when his lips kissed the skin on her neck softly, she nearly jumped out of her skin and soon forgot about what she should have said. His soft lips kissed her a few more times as they moved upwards to her ear. "Let's remind each other, then" he whispered. If the seduction in his words hadn't been enough to convince her, the need was.

**A/N: Yikes.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: As my schedule gets busier, I have less time to write, which means less updates and shorter ones as well :(. It should start slowing down in a few weeks so I have more time to write though :D **

**Thank you for being patient! I appreciate it you guys!**

His hands were everywhere in those next few minutes. Her hips, her back, her arms, and eventually in her hair.

And she was completely, and willingly, helpless to his touch. She felt her breathing become just a bit erratic as she felt him undo the first button on her coat. His teeth scraped against the bottom of her ear and she let out the tiniest gasp, one that he appreciated. "I heard that" he whispered. He finished unbuttoning her jacket for her while she clung to his shirt to keep herself from collapsing.

Elena silently cursed herself for showing her appreciation. She was a panting, gasping mess at his mercy and he was loving every minute of it. But in all honesty, so was she. "You're arrogant" she told him, aware that his hands were on the move again. This time, they were playing with the hem of her shirt.

Stefan chuckled deep in his throat as he kissed her lips playfully. He had been so busy working on her ear and neck that he had neglected her lips for far too long now. "I think you like my arrogance" he mumbled against her lips.

Elena groaned. "Just shut up and kiss me" she told him, becoming entirely too impatient with him. When his lips crashed against hers again, she felt herself moving backwards as he pushed her. Her back hit the wall in his living room with a thud.

Stefan couldn't help the smile that formed as he had Elena pinned against the wall. Slowly, his hands made their way under her shirt, getting ready to do some serious exploring. "I'd kiss you all night if you let me" he whispered.

Could she let him? Elena wouldn't deny that she was enjoying this moment with Stefan, but when she felt his kisses become needier and his hands begin to move their way up her stomach, something told her she had to stop it. It was wrong, even if it felt so right. If she let it go too far, it might be too late. "Stefan" she said breathlessly.

"Hmm?" he asked, trailing his lips down her chin and down to her shoulder.

Elena opened her eyes and sighed. Damn him for doing this to her. "Please stop" she said quietly.

She felt his lips peel away from her skin as he stepped back some, leaving a gap between them. She couldn't tell if he was hurt or mad or what. "What's wrong?" he asked finally.

Elena let her head fall back against the wall and closed her eyes. "This is wrong" she told him.

"Wrong?" he asked. He never would have picked up on that from her earlier. "What's so wrong about two people wanting to feel something?" he asked.

Elena opened her eyes suddenly and found that he was staring at her intently, waiting for her answer like her answer was important. Maybe it was to him. "Despite what you think about my relationship, I'm still in one" Elena told him. "I can't do this, because I am with someone else." Stefan perked up a bit. She hadn't said she didn't want to do it, just that she couldn't. "Go ahead, criticize me" she told him, feeling the need to get a little defensive.

But Stefan just shook his head slowly. "I admire you" he told her. "It sucks, but …" he said, cracking a smile that she couldn't help return. "You're a better person than I am" he said, stepping away from her again and turning away from her, running his hand through his messy hair.

"I don't know if that's true" Elena said. She wondered why he would say that, but decided to let it go. She had something else to ask about. "Stefan?" she asked. "I don't understand how your company is doing so poorly. Your profit should still be stable enough to continue growth, despite some recent losses" she said. It was bothering her the more she thought about it.

His back was still to her as he walked away from her, out of the room. Elena stood where she was, wondering if she had stepped over her boundaries. She shouldn't have asked. Nervously, she looked around his apartment before deciding it was best that she go.

Just as she was about to leave though, he came back into the room carrying a folder. He handed it to her without a word, knowing she would understand anything in there that she read. Elena looked at him cautiously as she opened it, scanning the documents inside. Her forehead scrunched as she looked over the numbers. To her, numbers were like a second language. It came naturally to read them, almost as if they were words.

Elena flipped through the pages and shook her head. "This doesn't make sense" she said, looking back up at him. These documents confirmed her earlier statement that the Salvatores should have been doing fine financially for the time being. "Your numbers are still relatively high, Stefan" she told him.

"Take away 60% of our profit from every quarter" he told her. More confusion washed over her face. "60% of the profit we earn goes towards our mother's care" he informed her. "The facility, her therapy and experimental treatments" he clarified. "Our company is working on 40% right now and since we are losing clients rather than gaining them, we aren't able to stay afloat financially. In another few months, we could go bankrupt" he finished, walking towards his couch and taking a seat. It was depressing as hell to think about that.

Elena shut his folder and looked at him sadly, unsure of what to say to that. His company was going under because he was trying to help his mother. There was nothing fair about that. "Don't look at me like that" he told her. She looked down at the folder quickly. "Insurance doesn't cover experimental treatment. And 24-hour living facilities aren't cheap" he added, finding himself talking just to avoid thinking about what she was thinking.

"You and your brother love your mother. You're doing a very honorable thing" Elena said finally. She hoped it sounded sincere and supportive.

Stefan laughed critically. "Damon was never on board with any of this" he told her. "He'd sooner see her dead than support her the way we do" Stefan sighed. "I made him agree to helping our mother and we argue about it every chance we get."

It was hard to hear Stefan say these things, especially because she could see how alone he was in all of this. Slowly, Elena walked towards him and took a seat on the couch next to him. "What's … what's her diagnosis?" Elena asked nervously, then regretted it. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that" she told him quickly.

"Paranoid Schizophrenia" Stefan answered without hesitancy. "She thinks everyone at some point is out to get her, to hurt or kill her" he explained. "She hears voices that talk to her. She talks to them too. She can be extremely violent one minute and go into full on panic mode in another. And sometimes, she's just the normal mother I was raised by" he added, feeling his voice catch in his throat a bit. Elena placed her hand on his knee in a comforting manner, seeing that it was hard for him to talk about. "We've tried every psychotropic medication on the market, every experimental drug and medical treatment available. Psychotherapy, you name it" he explained.

"Nothing is working?" Elena asked.

Stefan shrugged. "There's a new drug that's supposed to come out after the New Year" he replied. "I don't know if we can afford it, and I don't know if I want to put her through another trial" he said, sighing. "But watching her suffer for the rest of her life really isn't an option either."

She could feel the pain laced in his words. She grabbed his hand with hers. "I'm sorry" she said, searching his face for his reaction.

"Don't be" he told her, pulling his hand away from hers. "I probably shouldn't have told you any of that" he said, standing up.

Elena looked up at him. "Then why did you?" she asked. He was risking a lot, exposing more of his family life.

Stefan looked at her for a moment, thinking about how much better his evening would have been had they been in his bed at that moment instead of discussing his mother. "I guess I needed to talk about it" he told her. He really only had Bonnie, and as much as he loved her, there was only so much he could talk with Bonnie about before it became repetitive. "You should go" he told Elena suddenly. Not that he wanted her to go, but he knew it would probably be best.

Elena nodded her head. "Okay" she told him. She stood from the couch and smiled at him sadly. "Your mother is lucky to have a son like you, Stefan" she told him. "I'll see you around" she told him before walking towards the door.

Stefan watched her, wondering when the next time he saw her would be.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena decided to take a long lunch at work so she could walk to her favorite bagel shop. A blueberry bagel with a small vanilla latte.

She sat down at a table by the window and watched as a few scattered snowflakes floated on by. Winter was coming early to Seattle for once.

"Hey Elena" she heard, causing her to turn around. It was Scott, one of the marketing directors for their company and also one of Gregory's poker buddies.

"Hi Scott" Elena said, inviting him to sit with her which he gladly accepted. "I haven't seen you in a while" she mentioned.

"Oh, I've been pretty busy" he smiled. His team was on top of their game right now.

"Well I'm glad you still made time for a poker game a few weeks ago" Elena told him. "You boys need time to relax" she smiled. They all worked too hard.

Scott looked at her a bit confused. "We didn't have a poker game a few weeks ago" he told her. "We haven't had a game in months" he added.

Elena's smiled slowly faded. "Oh" was all she said. She wondered why Gregory would have told her he couldn't spend time with her then if there was no poker game.

"Well, I hate to bail on you, but I need to get back" he told her. "It was good to see you" he said, patting her shoulder before leaving.

Elena picked at her bagel, suddenly not hungry anymore. Surely, it was just a mix up.

She finished her coffee and walked back to the office, deciding to stop by Gregory's office on the way to hers. He was on the phone, but hung up as he waved her in. "Hey" she said, coming around to where he was sitting and putting her arms around him. "Hey, you never told me how your poker game went a few weeks ago" she said curiously.

"I didn't win" he answered, typing away at his computer. "But it was nice seeing the boys" he added. Elena froze momentarily. He was flat out lying to her. Slowly, she let go of him, though he really didn't seem to care. "Sorry, but the boys will be getting more of my time this weekend. We're going fishing" he told her, continuing to type on his keyboard.

"You're not going to be around this weekend?" Elena asked. She hadn't spent any time with him in weeks.

"Nope" he answered. "Hey, how's it going, digging up personal information on the Salvatores?" he asked suddenly, changing the subject. "Find anything yet."

His mother. That is something she had found out about. "Nothing yet" she told Gregory. "I should get back to my office" she said, stepping away from him.

She thought he maybe waved her off, but she wasn't sure. When she stepped into her own office and shut the door, a heavy feeling fell over her. She never wanted to be that distrusting, paranoid girlfriend. But she was pretty sure he was cheating on her now.

Elena had suspected it at one point a year ago, when he had started avoiding her and spending time out of state. But things had gotten better and she had let her suspicions go.

She shook the thoughts from her head though. She had work to do. A lot of work to do.

When she emerged from her office three hours later, needing coffee, she passed Gregory's office and saw that his door was open. He had his back to the doorway as he spoke on the phone. Elena stopped and listened out of curiosity. It didn't sound like a business call. "Yeah, everything is booked" he said. "I'm excited to see you too" he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Don't worry about her. I know, but you will be seeing me soon" he said, a little quieter. "I love you too."

Elena ducked away from the door before he spun his chair around and saw her. Her heart was pounding with both fear and anger. He really was cheating on her.

Quickly, she went back to her office and grabbed her jacket and her bag, needing to get out of there. "I'm going home sick" Elena said as she passed reception on her floor and went straight for the elevators.

By the time she was on the first floor and out the door, walking across the parking lot, tears were trickling down her cheeks. She opened her car door and threw her bags inside before getting in herself. Elena grabbed her steering wheel tightly and leaned forward, resting her head on it. It was ridiculous to be crying over him. He was an ass for doing this to her. She deserved better.

She lifted her head up slowly and wiped away some of her tears. Then, she looked over at her purse for a moment, thinking about her next move. Elena grabbed her wallet and her phone out of her purse and searched for a business card she hoped she still had.

She dialed the number and waited approximately four rings before someone answered. "Stefan, it's me" she said quietly into the phone. "I need to see you."

**A/N: Why does she need to see Stefan …?**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: BIG thank you for hanging in there with me and my once a week updating. I would writer every day if I could!**

**I decided to go in a different direction in this update, to move forward with the story. I hope it works :D**

**Thank you to everyone who reads!**

"Stefan, it's me" she said quietly into the phone. "I need to see you."

"Is everything okay?" he asked, and she could hear him shuffling papers on his end of the line, almost as if he was setting them aside. "Where are you?"

"I'm at work" she told him. Elena opened her mouth to explain, but a knock on her car window caused her to gasp loudly and drop her phone. Elena could barely see Gregory standing next to her car, through her frosted car window. Stefan's voice was still coming through the phone and she quickly hung up on him.

Gregory was still standing there expectantly when she got out of her car. "You're going home?" he asked, clearly disapproving of her choice.

"I … I don't feel well" she told him, being as confident as she could in his presence.

"You look fine" he told her sternly.

Elena felt a sudden surge of confidence as she scoffed at his statement. How dare he try and discount how she felt. "Well I don't feel fine" she snapped at him. "I have sick leave for a reason" she reminded him defiantly.

"The day is half over already, just stick it out" he said, matching her defiant tone. "We have too much to get done right now for you to be taking time off because you don't feel well" he said, mocking her from earlier.

Elena crossed her arms defensively. "Excuse me?" she asked. "I have all of my work done. Maybe you're the one who needs to spend the weekend working" she told him. "Oh, wait. I forgot. You're going out of town this weekend" she said, slightly angry.

Gregory looked at her with a warning glare. "I've been working 80 hour weeks the entire year to keep this company going at the rate it is" he told her, pointing his finger at her. "If I want a weekend fishing trip with the boys, I'm going to take a God damn weekend fishing trip with the boys" he nearly growled at her with frustration.

This only agitated Elena more. "Huh, weekend trip with the boys?" Elena asked sarcastically. Gregory narrowed his eyes at her, unappreciative of her sarcastic tone that she was taking with him. Elena could care less though. She was fired up and she couldn't stop. "Who is she, Gregory?" Elena finally asked.

Maybe a little part of her wanted herself to be wrong about Gregory cheating on her. She had put so much effort into their relationship and the thought of it being over was scary. But what was scarier was the thought of being alone, even though she had basically been alone in her relationship anyway.

As Elena thought all of that over in her head, she realized that Gregory wasn't answering her. He wasn't defending himself. He was just staring at her with a blank look like he didn't know what to do. "Do I know her?" she finally asked, and the hatred in her voice was evident. "Come on Gregory!" she said, raising her voice at him. "Tell me about her. She's obviously important to you if you're been cheating on me with her!" she all but yelled. A prickling sensation was gathering at the backs of her eyes, but she damn sure as hell wasn't going to cry in front of him. She never cried in front of him.

And without much effort, he answered her finally. "Don't make this any harder for yourself than it needs to be" he told her, as if he was giving her the best advice anyone could give. She took offense to it though, scoffing at him like he was the most unbelievable person she had ever met. "My relationship with her doesn't change how I feel about you" he added.

That was the biggest slap in the face for her. "You did not just say that" Elena said in disgust, shaking her head as she backed away from him.

"Elena" he said, stepping towards her. "Nothing between us will change" he told her with such sincerity that she was pretty sure she was dealing with a psychopath.

Elena glared at him. "Everything just changed" she told him confidently. "I spent years trying to make our relationship work!" she nearly yelled at him. "I never asked for much in return. Hell, I even made up excuses for you. But this? Cheating on me? There's no excuse for that. I don't deserve that kind of disrespect" she said boldly.

He smiled at her then, confusing her and pissing her off at the same time. "Do you really want to be alone right now? Just before the holidays?" he asked, figuring her could trap her into staying with him that way. No one liked to be alone for the holidays.

She squared her shoulders and took a step towards him. She wanted to hurt him back. To let her anger out in a way that would cripple him like he was crippling her, though she wouldn't show it. As soon as her anger dissipated, she would feel all of those other emotions she didn't want to feel. Sadness, loneliness, anxiety, and insecurity.

But for the moment, she could piss him off for the hell of it. "Don't you worry about me being alone" she told him. "Stefan Salvatore will make sure I'll be taken care of" she said. "All. Night. Long" she said slowly, pronouncing each word for that little extra push to piss him off.

Gregory's smile had long faded as he listened to her. "You've been sleeping with him?" he asked, keeping his temper in check.

Elena shook her head. "No, you see. I respect you more than you apparently respect me" she told him. "Had I known you were cheating on me though?" she asked. "I would have let Stefan have his way with me the other night" she told him. She took another small step closer to him and lowered her voice. "And I'm sure it would have been mind-blowing" she told him.

Gregory glared at her again, clearly angry. He grabbed ahold of her wrist suddenly and she could see how angry he truly was. "Shut up" he told her in a low, cold voice.

Elena pulled her arm away from him, but he only held on tighter. It was starting to hurt and he was starting to scare her. He had never done this before. "Let go" she told him, using her other hand to try and pry his hand off of her. "Gregory, you're hurting me" she said, feeling the distress seep into her voice.

"You don't throw Stefan in my face like that" he said angrily, pushing her against her car and tightening his grip on her wrist. "You want to be with him, huh Elena?" he asked in an overbearing tone. "He's about to go bankrupt any day now. Is that the kind of life you want? Failure?" he asked.

"He's not a failure!" she yelled at Gregory, surprising both herself and him by defending Stefan. Gregory's eyes narrowed at her and still, he squeezed her arm harder. "Ow" she whimpered, fighting back tears that threatened to spill.

"Let go?" he asked her. "And then what?" he asked, clearly trying to still intimidate her.

"And then I'm going to kick your ass" Stefan said from behind him.

Stefan's sudden presence distracted Gregory just enough so Elena could get her arm free. She slipped past Gregory, but he grabbed onto her arm to stop her. "Elena, wait" he told her, more calmly this time.

His hand was slapped away by Stefan who clearly was done with Gregory touching Elena. "You have 30 seconds to get back in that building before I physically show you how much I hate you" Stefan warned him.

Gregory glared at Stefan. "This is between Elena and me" he told him, taking a step towards Stefan. "Not your business, Salvatore."

"It just became my business" Stefan told him, staring him down and determined to win.

Gregory seemed to be sizing Stefan up and Elena watched nervously. If Stefan did hit Gregory, Stefan would be the one in trouble, especially on Gregory's company's property. Gregory looked over at Elena finally. "This isn't over" he told her, taking a step back from them and turning to leave.

Stefan paid him no mind as soon as he was a safe distance away. "Are you okay?" he asked, searching her eyes. His gaze fell though, down to her wrist.

She moved it behind her back awkwardly so he would stop staring. "I'm fine" she told him, looking anywhere but at him. "What are you doing here?"

"You called saying you needed to see me, and then you hung up suddenly. I was worried" he told her. Thank God he had decided to drive over to check on her.

Elena realized that she had called him, though she hadn't meant for him to come to her. She had planned on going to him. But if Stefan hadn't shown up when he did, Elena wondered just what Gregory would have done. "Thank you for coming to make sure I was okay" she told him.

"You're welcome" he told her, and his sincerity nearly killed her. He had to stop being such a great guy to her. "What did you need to see me about?" he asked.

"Nothing" Elena told him. She honestly didn't know what she was thinking. Running to Stefan because her lousy boyfriend was cheating on her was pathetic. Stefan was looking at her like he didn't believe her, but he wasn't pressing her for clarification either. "Really, it was nothing" she told him again.

"Okay" he said, nodding. He would drop the subject. For now. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, gently pulling her arm out from behind her back to examine her wrist. It was red where Gregory's fingers had gripped her, and he was sure it would bruise by the evening. He ran his thumb over the red marks softly. Her wrist was so small and he knew that Gregory could have easily crushed her wrist had he decided to.

Elena's eyes were glued to his hand, softly touching her aching wrist. "I'm sure" she said.

Stefan nodded. "Can I drive you home or something?" he asked, finding it increasingly hard to be normal around her right now when all he wanted to do was grab her and hug her tight to make her feel better.

"No, thanks though" she told him, pulling her arm away from him. "I should get home and ice this" she said, pointing to her wrist. She turned and opened her car door, but stopped before getting in.

He could tell that she wanted to say something to him, and he waited for what seemed like minutes only for her to talk herself out of saying something to him and getting into her car instead. He forced a smile though as he waved to her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena spent the better half of the night crying and by the time she woke up the next morning, her eyes hurt like hell. But she did her best to put herself together and the makeup did its job in hiding how sad and tired she was.

Elena checked her wrist and saw that it had turned black and blue. She touched it and winced. That bastard had gone too far the day before.

Elena knew she couldn't avoid Gregory forever, but she wished she could. She would just have to suck it up and pretend like she didn't care about him or what he did anymore.

When she did set foot into her office, she was met by two security officers. "Miss Gilbert" one of them nodded. "You need to gather your belongings and exit the premises" he instructed.

"I beg your pardon?" Elena asked. "What is going on here?" she asked.

"You've been fired" Gregory said, standing behind her. She jumped slightly before turning around to face him. "You have five minutes to gather your things" he told her.

Elena felt that same sick feeling return that she had the day before when she had discovered that he was cheating on her. "You can't fire me" she told him.

"As CEO, Elena. Yes, I can" he told her, giving her no indication that he was going to back down. "I've decided that you're not the best fit for the company anymore" he shrugged, as if to say he had put a lot of thought into it.

"I made this company what it is" she reminded him, keeping her emotions in check with the security guards present.

"No, Elena. You, did what anyone with your degree could have done" he informed her. Elena's jaw nearly dropped at his comment. "So pack your stuff and get the hell out of my building" he said before turning and leaving. "Boys, give her a minute, would ya?" Gregory told them, waving them out.

Elena stood stalk still as they left and waited for the door to be shut. She had five minutes, and Gregory would count and make sure she didn't get a second longer. She quickly went to her desk and tossed her bag down, digging through it for her memory stick and sticking it into the computer. It took her all of about one minute to get what she needed off of the computer. The last few minutes were spent grabbing various things from her desk – things she knew he wouldn't forbid her for taking.

Sure enough, he was back in five minutes. "Got everything?" he smirked.

Elena threw her bag over her shoulder and stormed towards him. "Go to hell" she spit at him before storming past him. She didn't care that everyone was staring at her as she left. They probably all knew that she had been fired. Gregory had probably sent out a mass e-mail to the company about it.

She was going to storm out of there with her head held high.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It wasn't until she was in front of the Salvatore building that Elena let herself break down just a little. A few tears escaped on her, but she wasn't planning on staying long enough to let them fall uncontrollably.

Betty jumped to her feet upon seeing Elena come walking down the hallway. "Miss Gilbert" she said politely.

"I need to see Stefan" Elena said, refusing to look at Betty. She could feel herself begin to get worked up and the last thing she wanted to do was become an emotional mess in front of this woman.

"He's in a meeting. He should be out in about 45 minutes" Betty informed her.

But Elena shook her head, feeling her frustration begin to build. "I need to see him now. Please call him" she said quickly.

Betty didn't hesitate to pick up her phone and proceed to tell Stefan that he needed to leave the meeting right away.

Stefan was walking down the hall a few minutes later, looking a tad frustrated with Betty. "Betty, that meeting is important. What's going …" he trailed off, seeing Elena standing off to the side. "Hey" he said, concern washing over his face. She looked up at him and didn't bother to hide how miserable she was. "Come here" he said, placing his hand on her back and leading her into his office. "What happened?" he asked her when his door was shut.

"You need this" Elena told him quickly, shoving the memory stick into his hand. "Everything I've created for his company. All the models I used. All of it is there" she told him, continuing with her rapid speech that had him confused. "Look them over and implement them. They will save your company" she finished before heading for the door once again.

Stefan stood there confused as Elena walked out the door. He looked at the memory stick in his hand, wondering what in the hell she had given him that for. Elena was dead set on never, ever letting Stefan know about her work. Yet she had just given him everything.

Stefan went to his computer and sat down, sticking in the memory stick and opening up the contents on his computer. Sure enough, there were hundreds of documents on the memory stick. He clicked through a few of them, finding models and analysis. He studied them carefully. These were everything Elena had used to make Gregory's Coffee so successful so fast. And now he had them.

There might have been hope for Salvatore Coffee after all.

He should have been excited and thrilled that he now had Elena's secrets for creating a successful company. But instead, the only thing he could think about, was her, and whether or not she was okay.

**A/N: Yeah, Gregory is kind of a jerk …**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I really like this chapter. I hope you all do as well. Do let me know what you think!**

Elena pretty much figured that this was what rock bottom felt like. And if it wasn't rock bottom, she sure as hell didn't want to sink any lower or feel any worse about herself and her life. It had been 15 hours since she had been fired. 3:00 AM and she was still awake, on her stomach on the couch staring at a photo of her on graduation day. She had worked so hard for everything and to watch it all be stripped away from her like that was devastating. Eventually, she would probably have to peel herself up off of her couch and put her life back together. Find a new job and a new boyfriend. But right now, she had no other intentions but to stay on that couch until life stopped sucking.

No. No new boyfriend. They were nothing but trouble and trouble was something she didn't need any more of. She could go solo for a few years, maybe do one of those single's cruises she had read up on at one point in her life.

Elena sighed. She had absolutely no wine in her apartment and she was too miserable to go out and get any.

She let her eyes wander around her apartment for something else that might take her mind off of all the crap she had gone through 15 hours ago. Nothing seemed to do the trick. She let herself think about Stefan suddenly, realizing that she was a single woman now and could have those kind of raw, passionate, and totally inappropriate thoughts about him. He could definitely take her mind off of everything for an hour or so.

But not even hot and sweaty sex with Stefan sounded appeasing to her right then. She knew she truly was a mess then if she was turning down her opportunity to call Stefan up for sex.

So she sighed and closed her eyes. Sleep had to come eventually.

Only her buzzing phone interrupted her attempt. She smacked her hand down on it and picked it up, examining the screen. It was the same damn number that had been calling her since she had left the Salvatore building. Stefan. He probably needed her help on how to read some of her models. Well, he could wait a few days. None of it was going anywhere. Elena had made sure of that.

It wouldn't be long before Gregory realized what she had done. Her models had to be updated every month or so, and no one could update them without the codes she implemented. For security purposes, of course. But none of the information Gregory needed was on her computer anymore in her office.

Because she had taken it all off of there and put it on the memory stick she had given Stefan. The only other copy of all of her information was in a locked box at her bank. Elena let herself smile for a moment as the realization hit her. In another week or so, Gregory's company was going to take a huge dive financially when it came time to update and adjust the models she had put in place. Everything had to be updated at the end of the month because of change in sales and profit. That was her secret – to always keep up with financial change rather than just implementing one idea and letting it run its course.

Soon, Gregory would realize that firing her was the worst change he ever made.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena didn't know what time it was, but she was still going to groan at the obnoxious knocking that was filtering through her apartment. She must have dozed off for a bit because it was almost 6:00 AM now.

She remembered feeling pretty damn good about herself before she drifted off. After all, Gregory didn't stand a chance without her. But upon waking up, that lonely, miserable feeling was back in full force.

The knocking continued and she dug her head further into her pillow and pulled her knees up to her chest. She just wanted the couch to swallow her up so she wouldn't have to think about how her life was no longer going to be what she had planned it to be. She and Gregory were supposed to be a powerful business couple. And he took all of that away from her. She was mad as hell at him, but more than anything, she was crushed. Crushed to know that he didn't want her anymore.

More knocking. Damnit. She was going to have to get up and tell whoever it was to go the hell away. Slowly, she peeled herself up off of the couch and stumbled towards the door. She looked through her door to see who was on the other side. She groaned even louder. "Open up Elena" he told her.

"Go away" Elena told him, leaning her head against her door. She was exhausted and she just wanted to be by herself.

"Not until you open up" he insisted.

"Well you're wasting your time then" she told him sadly, pushing herself away from her door and retreating back to her couch. The knocking continued for another five minutes or so before stopping. Thank God. He had given up. She knew she would have to face him sooner or later. Later was looking better though. Elena closed her eyes, hoping to go back to sleep.

Not ten minutes later, her eyes opened suddenly when she heard someone banging on her window. Elena sat up quickly and could barely see him outside of her window, hanging on for dear life. "Elena!" he yelled. "Elena, can you let me in please?" he called out to her. "I'm barely hanging on here!" he warned her.

Elena walked to her window and pulled the curtain back the rest of the way to see him struggling to hang on to the ledge of the window outside. She unlocked the window and pushed it open. "What in the hell is wrong with you?" she all but yelled at him.

Stefan glared at her. "Well if you would have opened the door, I wouldn't have had to resort to such drastic measures" he reminded her.

"So you crawled up the third story of my building to prove your point?" she asked, crossing her arms. She could tell that he was still struggling to hang on to her window, but she still wasn't going to make an effort to help inside her apartment.

"No, Elena" he told her. "I crawled up the third story of your building because I wanted to see if you were okay" he told her pointedly. "Now, would you be a doll and help me inside please?" he asked.

Elena threw her hands up in frustration before finally giving in and grabbing around his arm to help pull him inside. "You're an idiot" she informed him, tugging hard and watching him fall forward onto her hardwood floor. He flopped onto his back and smiled up at her. Okay, so he was an adorable idiot.

"Is that any way to greet your guest?" he asked, moving to get up.

Elena rolled her eyes. "What do you want Stefan?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Stefan smoothed his jacket out. "I want to know what happened" he said finally, looking into her eyes with his beautifully concerned ones. "You show up yesterday, give me everything that made you so successful, and then leave" he reminded her. "So, I'm asking you, what happened?"

Elena just shook her head. "Don't ask questions" she told him. "Implement the models and get your company up and running successfully again."

He looked at her for a moment, recognizing what she was doing. Well it wasn't going to work. He stepped closer to her, close enough for her breath to catch in her throat. Yeah, he still had that effect on her. "Those are your models. Your creations" he told her softly. "You must have had a pretty damn good reason for showing up yesterday and handing them over."

Elena held his eyes for about 30 seconds, long enough to let her resolve die down. She tore her eyes away from his and looked out the window. "He fired me yesterday" she told him, failing to blink back a few tears that escaped as she said it. When was it not going to be so painful to say?

Stefan stared at her, not sure exactly what to say to that. He of course was thrilled that she wasn't working with Gregory anymore. But Elena looked heartbroken. Nothing made that okay with him. "I gave you my models because I wanted to piss him off" Elena told him. Then she sighed. "But I wanted to help you and your family too" she added.

That declaration nearly knocked him off his feet. She wanted to help him. And she was, even though she was miserable. "I appreciate you wanting to help, Elena" he told her. "But even with your models in place, we can't compete with Gregory" he reminded her.

"Your company will be fine" Elena told him, still focused on looking out of her window. "Gregory and his company no longer has access to my financial models" she informed Stefan. "Everything has to be updated once a month and he no longer has access to what he needs to do the updates. Because I took it all" she explained.

Stefan watched her closely and nodded. "Does Gregory know what you did?" he asked her.

Elena shook her head no. "He will at the end of the month" she said. "But I don't care. I created those models. He'll just have to figure out something else to keep his company going" Elena shrugged. There was a moment of silence between them and she could tell that he was staring at her. He was trying to read her and she didn't like it. "You're supposed to be at work" she told him, moving her feet to walk away from him.

His arm looped around her waist, stopping her from leaving. "Some things are more important than work" he said quietly into her ear.

Elena could feel her chest rise and fall against him as he held her close. She closed her eyes and let herself breathe for a moment. "I don't want to talk about anything right now" she told him just as quietly. "I don't want to think about anything."

His fingers pressed lightly into her side. His lips pressed lightly against the side of her head. "What do you want, then?" he asked her, his head still resting against hers.

She stood silent for a moment, trying to decide if what she wanted right in that moment, was really what she should ask him for. Yes, she was single. Yes, she was hurting. She hadn't been happy in a really long time. So maybe one night with Stefan was what she needed. Maybe she deserved some sort of affection after being denied it for so long.

Elena was tired of thinking though. That's all she ever did, was think too much. And what had it gotten her? Single and jobless. She grabbed Stefan's hand and turned herself to look up at him. He could see that she was upset and he hated that she felt that way. "I want you" she said quietly. "I want to give in for once" she added, searching his eyes to see what he was going to say.

He squeezed her hand that was holding his, loving the feel of it in his hand. "I don't want you to regret this" he answered quietly, already knowing what she wanted. Hell, he wanted to sleep with her too. He had wanted to for quite some time now.

"I won't" she told him. She would probably want to forget about it though.

"I don't want to take advantage of you" he added, trying to make her understand that the last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt her in some way.

Elena never let her eyes fall from his. "I'm 25, and I'm not drunk" she whispered. "I'm upset, and I'm asking you to help me feel better." She waited for him to say something, anything, but he didn't. "If you don't want to have sex with me …" she trailed off, feeling her chest tighten at yet again another possible rejection. Her eyes fell from his as she prepared herself to go back to her couch and lay there for the rest of the day.

But instead she felt herself being pushed back against her own wall, pinned there by his body as his hands held her face gently. It was surprising, but pretty damn arousing too. He placed a soft kiss against her lips before lowering his hands to her waist and moving his mouth over her ear. "Sex is something I wanted the day I met you" he whispered, letting his hot breath touch her ear. "Now, I want to take my time, undress you slowly, touch every inch of your body with my hands and my tongue …" he trailed off in a whisper, causing her eyes to tightly close as she imagined his hands and his tongue doing exactly what he had just said. "And then, I want to make love to you" he whispered, kissing against her ear. "Passionately" he told her, licking his way down her ear painfully slowly. "All …" he continued, stopping at her earlobe. "Night …" he told her, letting his perfectly straight teeth graze her sensitive skin. "Long" he finished, biting down on her earlobe hard enough to cause her to gasp.

Her eyes flew open. "Jesus Stefan" she gasped. This was the man she had met in the bathroom the first time she met him. And at last, she was no longer thinking about how lonely or miserable she was. Not when she had Stefan pressing her against a wall, whispering and licking and nibbling on her ear. If he kept this up, she wasn't even going to need him for the actual sex.

She could hear him chuckle against her ear and the vibrations nearly made her legs buckle. Damn her body for betraying her so much right now. "I can tell what I do to you, simply by the fact that I'm practically holding you up right now" he told her.

He was laughing at her. "You're laughing at me" she accused. It wasn't like she could do anything about it even if she wanted to. "It's … been a while" she added, slightly embarrassed that her body was so over the top responsive to him and that she really could not exercise any control.

Stefan's hands slid their way under her oversized t-shirt and began making small, slow circles against her skin. His warm breath was still ever present against her ear and she wondered when he was going to pay attention to other areas. "I can guarantee you, that what you are about to experience" he told her, giving her ear another soft, sensual kiss. "Is something you have never, ever experienced before" he finished, nibbling on the bottom of her ear one last time, leaving her ear a promise that he would be back for it later.

He was being cocky and she was getting frustrated that they were still against the wall. "I've had sex before" she reminded him with a bit of annoyance in her voice. She grabbed onto the inside of his arms and applied pressure.

He laughed again. He was confident in his skills in the bedroom. It wasn't hard to be good when you were totally and completely focused on the person you were with. "Sex and sex with me are two completely different things" he informed her, finally looking into her eyes once again. "Besides, I said I was going to make love to you, not have sex with you" he reminded, crushing his lips against hers before she could respond.

She felt herself being lifted up off of the floor and she wrapped her arms around his neck to steady her balance. He did the rest, supporting her legs as he moved them away from the wall and across her apartment. He went to open one door, but she mumbled something against his lips, telling him it was the next door.

Stefan set her on her feet once inside her bedroom. Her breathing was ragged as she stood in front of him, staring at him. He was looking around her room, taking it in. The elegance of it all fit her so perfectly, even down to the frilly pillows on her bed. "Cute pillows" he told her, smirking.

She turned back to look at her neatly made bed and blushed slightly. "They matched the bed set" she told him.

"I can't wait to put them to use" he smiled, practically pouncing at her without warning. She shrieked, feeling him pick her up easily and toss her on the bed. He was coming down on top of her, catching the majority of his weight on his arms so as not to hurt her, but letting her feel some of his weight so he could be close to her.

He was kissing her lips passionately once again, his hands resting on her upper arms as he did. She bit down on his bottom lip lightly, slowing his kissing to a stop. She let go and smiled. She was really excited about this. Nervous, but excited. "I'm really glad you came over to check on me" she told him quietly.

Stefan smiled and pressed his lips against hers again. "Me too" he told her. He sat up, slowing pulling her with him. "Lift your arms up" he told her, smiling at her the entire time. She blushed once again, and he thought it might possible have been the sexiest thing he had ever seen. Elena lifted her arms up finally and watched as he slowly lifted the shirt over her head, tossing it on the floor next to the bed. She attempted to cover herself up with her arms, because her lack of a bra was leaving her feeling entirely too exposed. But Stefan grabbed her arms gently, pulling them away as he got a good look at her. And he definitely liked what he saw. "Don't ever feel like you have to hide from me" he said, this time his voice more serious. He took her hand in his and his eyes fell on the bruise on her wrist that Gregory had given her the day before. "Does it hurt?" he asked, running his thumb lightly over her black and blue skin.

Elena nodded. "A little" she told him.

Stefan brought her wrist up to his lips and kissed it gently, locking eyes with her the entire time he kissed her bruise. "Does this make it feel better?" he asked, pressing his lips against her wrist once again.

Elena nodded slowly, continuing to watch him. She couldn't think of what to say. "You're still wearing your jacket and shirt" she pointed out, slowing reaching out to slide the jacket off of his shoulders. He let go of her hand and smiled. She went to work on undoing each button on his shirt and he sat perfectly still, watching her.

When his shirt was finally on the floor next to hers, he leaned towards her, pushing her back down on the bed and kissing her slowly. As far as he was concerned, they had the rest of the day to spend together. And what was even better, it was Friday, which meant they had all weekend if they wanted it. And he definitely wanted her, all weekend.

Stefan pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at her. "You are so beautiful" he told her softly, placing a kiss lightly on her cheek and slowly trailing kisses down her face, her neck, and her shoulder. He came back up and smiled at her again. "And so smart, and talented …" he added, trailing kisses down the other side of her.

Elena held onto his shoulders, loving the feeling of his lips on her skin. "Stefan" she sighed.

He trailed his lips back up to her ear and smiled. "Close your eyes" he whispered. "And for the next hour or so, lay back and let me do all the work" he told her. Her tiny moan of approval made him smile again. "I'll let you know when I need your help" he added, nibbling on the side of her throat.

Elena's eyes were screwed shut as she felt his lips leave her throat, move down to her shoulder, and stop to pay attention to her chest.

It wasn't until she felt his fingers pulling on the drawstring of her pajama bottoms that she truly let herself give in to the fact that he was going to take over for a while. And she had a feeling she was going to enjoy it. Every, slow, torturing second of it.

**A/N: I think Stefan is so amazing :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I take it many of you like Stefan and Elena becoming … closer? **

The weight of his body coupled with his warm breath hitting her skin in short pants was enough to make her not want to move. Ever. She felt … wanted, needed, safe, and of course, incredibly satisfied.

But eventually, she knew they would have to get up. He would have to leave and she would once again be alone.

And then his weight was gone as he flopped over on his back, his arm going over his face and his chest stretched out, taking in air to try and get his breathing back on track. Her own breathing was eradicated, practically matching his own. And that's the way it should have been, after four hours in bed with him.

Elena closed her eyes, not bothering to cover herself up. He'd seen all of her the last few hours, so there really was no point in hiding anything now.

She wondered how this was supposed to go. Was he supposed to get up and leave eventually? Was she supposed to make him breakfast and then ask him to leave? Were they supposed to talk? Then a sudden fear hit her hard. What if he wanted to stay?

"You're thinking too hard" came his voice, dragging her away from her thoughts. She opened her eyes slowly and turned her head slightly to see him smirking at her with a twinkle in those beautiful green eyes of his. He could tell just by looking at her face that she had been deep in thought.

"What's supposed to happen now?" she asked quietly, deciding to just come out with her question rather than dragging on the awkwardness.

Stefan laughed lightly, quite amused with her. Clearly she had not done this impromptu sex thing very often. And that made him feel better. "This" Stefan said, rolling back over to her. His hand touched her face gently as he leaned in and kissed her softly. It was a perfect kiss, not too long or too short. When the kiss ended, he was smiling. "Come here" he said softly, rolling away from her, but bringing her with him.

Elena didn't have much choice but to follow his lead, landing herself covering half of his body. She rested her head against his chest and felt his arms wrap around her lower back. So she assumed he wasn't leaving anytime soon.

His hand traveled slowly up her back, following her spine closely. When he reached her neck, he trailed his fingers back down her spine. He repeated this over and over again until he felt her relax to his touch. It wasn't long after that when she finally drifted off, giving in to much needed sleep.

Stefan continued running his hand up and down her back lazily, enjoying the feel of her against him. What he wouldn't give to do this more often with her. And not just the sex either. Having her near him was peaceful.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When she woke up a few hours later, she was still lying against him and his arms were still wrapped around her. He was sleeping. Slowly, she lifted her head and got a better look at his sleeping form. He looked so relaxed, as if he had been in her bed with her many times previously.

An overwhelming thirst came over her and she knew she needed to get up and get some water. She lifted the rest of her body away from him carefully, trying not to wake him. She wanted to sneak out of bed, get dressed, and wait for him to wake up. Why? Because waking up naked next to him would have been even more awkward.

As she slowly maneuvered herself away from him, she knew she was caught when she felt his hands grab ahold of her sides. She froze and gave him a nervous glance. "Hey" he said sleepily. "Where are you going?"

He was making it incredibly hard for her to leave the bed now, both because of his hands on her and his perfect, sleepy smile that was slowly luring her back in. "I umm … I just need water" she said.

"Okay" he said, still in his sleepy voice. He could have easily fallen right back asleep. He dropped his hands from her waist and watched as she scooted away from him, climbing off of the bed and quickly grabbing her clothes to put on. She left the room quickly and he figured he would give her a few minutes to herself. He couldn't quite tell what her reaction to them sleeping together was that morning. Was she regretting it? Was she confused? Were things going to be awkward? Should he leave? Damon was probably mad as hell that he hadn't shown up for work yet.

Elena walked straight into her kitchen, grabbing a pitcher of water out of the fridge. She poured herself a glass before downing it quickly. Her hands felt shaky, but she attributed that to the fact that she hadn't eaten for a while.

Sleeping with Stefan had been a nice distraction for a few hours, but Elena realized that nothing was different. She still had been fired and she had still broken up with her boyfriend. She rested her hands against the countertop and closed her eyes, taking a few small breaths in and out. She opened them and stared ahead, only to see a photo of her and Gregory from a trip to Florida the past summer. They both looked so happy. Elena wondered when that had changed. When had he started cheating on her? When had she become not good enough?

A few tears escaped despite her best efforts to hold them back. She closed her eyes and gripped the countertop a little more. Why was she crying over that loser? She was stronger than that. Maybe it was because she had faith that he loved her, all the while he was loving someone else.

Stefan's soft footsteps padding into her kitchen made her want to cry even more. Here was a man that had been nothing but gentle, generous, and kind to her earlier that morning, and all she could think about was how to get him out of her apartment.

He kept a respectful distance as he looked at how she had her back to him. He could tell that she was upset and he felt awful. "I'm sorry if I did something wrong" he told her quietly, automatically going to that place where he thought she was regretting sleeping with him. Maybe he should have left before things had gone too far. Maybe he shouldn't have come over at all.

His apology wanted to make her cry even more. He was the last person she wanted to confide in, yet he was the only person she had there. She didn't have friends in Seattle because she threw herself into her work. There wasn't any time for friends. She didn't want Jenna to know about Gregory or her job because Jenna would want to help and Elena didn't want that. So, she really only had Stefan.

"He cheated on me" she said neutrally, as if those words meant nothing to her. But they did. They meant everything to her. "What did I do wrong?" she asked, placing her hand over her mouth as she began to cry.

Stefan stood there, almost frozen as he watched how helpless she looked. He knew that she was lively and confident, yet some jerk had taken it all away from her. It wasn't fair that Gregory could still have this kind of control over her, even after they broke up.

It didn't surprise Stefan one bit that Gregory had cheated on Elena. What did surprise him was the fact that Elena was telling him this.

Slowly, he walked towards her, putting his hands on her shoulders and rubbing them. "Hey" he said soothingly as she continued to cry. "You didn't do anything wrong. He did" Stefan told her softly. He turned her until her head fell into his chest and the rest of her body leaned against him. "His life is going to be miserable and his company is going to fail without you" he told her, holding her in his arms while he comforted her.

"He's an ass, so why am I crying over him?" Elena asked. She hated that she was so emotional. Who in their right mind would have been this upset after spending four amazing hours in bed with Stefan? Only her apparently.

Stefan moved her hair over one side of her shoulder as he rubbed her back. "Because you loved him, and there's nothing wrong with feeling hurt or betrayed" he told her.

Elena sniffled some, still hating that this breakup was affecting her so much. His words made sense though. "How come you're so good at knowing what to say?" she asked, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly to try and calm herself.

Stefan smiled as he rested his head against hers. "I've taken some psychology classes" he informed her. "And I watch Dr. Phil most nights" he added. She laughed like she thought he was joking. He really wasn't, but he would let her think that. For now.

Elena pulled her head away from his chest and stepped back from him just slightly. She wiped at a few straggling tears. "I'm sorry. I'm not usually like this" she told him, slightly embarrassed by the way she was acting. "I think I just need a few days to pull myself together and find a new job" she told him. Once she was back working, she would be her old self again.

Stefan nodded. "Take your time" he said, knowing that throwing herself back into her work probably wasn't the ideal way to handle a breakup. But who was he to talk. "In the meantime, you're okay … you know … financially?" he asked awkwardly.

Elena stepped further back from him and looked up. That was kind of a personal question to be asking her. Then again, he had just seen her naked the past few hours, so maybe they were on more than just a first name basis now. "I have money" she answered, increasing the awkwardness between them. "You're supposed to save money just in case you lose your job" she reminded him.

"Of course" he said. He knew she was smart enough to put money away. "I just want you to know that if you need anything, feel free to ask" he told her, leaving it at that.

Elena looked at him curiously for a moment. Why was he being so nice to her? "Thank you" she replied. There was a long silent pause for a while and Elena decided it was time to break the silence. "Look, I don't want to be … rude" she told him hesitantly.

Stefan smiled, catching on to what she wanted right away. "You want me to leave" he said.

Elena nodded, smiling apologetically at him. "I'm sorry. I just … like I said, I need some time to pull myself together" she reminded him.

"Sure" he said. He understood that. Stefan stepped towards her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You have my number" he reminded her, letting his fingers fall down along her arms as he moved away from her.

When his back was to her, and she saw him leaving, she felt the need to stop him. "Stefan" she said. He stopped and turned around to face her. Elena closed the distance between them and grabbed onto his shirt, pulling him in for a kiss. "I had a really, really nice time this morning" she whispered, opening her eyes and looking up at him.

Stefan smiled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her even closer. "I did too" he told her. "Maybe we can do it again sometime" he winked seductively, nearly knocking her feet out from under her. "Bye" he said, giving her a slow, quick kiss before letting her go and walking towards the door.

Elena stood where she was, wrapping her arms around herself. When the door clicked shut, an incredible sense of loneliness overcame her. But she had to remind herself that she needed to be by herself and work on getting her life back on track. Still, it was nice to know Stefan could be there if she really wanted him to be.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The entire following week was one big disappointment after another. No one she called would even think about getting her in for an interview. It was like the entire city of Seattle and surrounding areas were determined not to let her get a new job.

And that's when it clicked. Gregory had made sure that no one would hire her for the job she could do well. He had the connections to make sure her career was halted in the area. Why though? He had ruined their relationship and he had fired her. If anything, he should have been giving her a nice recommendation to find a new job.

Elena closed her laptop and stood up to get her jacket. She was going out. Where, she didn't know, but she had been cooped up in her apartment for a week straight and she was going to go nuts. She buttoned up her jacket and grabbed her purse. When she opened the door, she came face to face with Gregory. Not the first person she wanted to see.

"Hello Elena" he said. Although he was calm, she could tell he was angry.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

"We need to talk" he told her. Elena could only shake her head no before he grabbed onto her arm and forced her to move backwards so he could come in. He slammed her door forcibly and stared her down. "You have something that belongs to me" he told her, with a warning tone that she knew all too well.

"I have nothing of yours" Elena told him, keeping her own temper in check. "You need to leave. You're not welcome here" she told him with her own warning tone.

Gregory took another step closer to her, but Elena stood her ground. "You know exactly what you have" he told her angrily. "My company has to do updates and you took all of that information with you when you left" he reminded her. Well, he had found out about that. She knew he would sooner or later. "You're a little thief, Elena. Give it all back" he warned.

"That information is mine" she reminded him coldly. "I don't have to give you anything." She looked right into his eyes, refusing to show him any weakness.

"I swear to God Elena …" he trailed off.

A knock on the door was probably the best thing that could have happened for her. It distracted him momentarily and she was able to get around him to answer the door. It was her building's security guard. "Morning Miss Gilbert" he said, tipping his hat at her. "We heard a door slam up here. Is everything okay?" he asked, looking at Gregory.

"Yes" Elena told him. "Sorry about the door. It was an accident" she mentioned, stepping aside for Gregory to get by. "I was just leaving" she said, giving Gregory the hint he needed.

He wasn't stupid. He walked past her, though he stopped once outside her door. "I'll be in touch" he told her, promising her that he would be back.

"Very well. Have a nice day" the security guard said, watching Elena shut her door. She glanced at Gregory who was seething inside.

When the door was locked, she went to her window to watch and make sure Gregory pulled out of her parking lot. She didn't want to take the chance that he would be downstairs waiting for her.

And now, she was letting him make her a prisoner in her own apartment.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Thankfully, Gregory had left, probably because his company was more important than harassing her for the rest of the day.

She was able to get a few things from the store and buy a new pair of boots because new boots always made her feel better.

Elena found herself at the Salvatore building just after 4:00 PM. Maybe she was curious to see if Stefan had implemented her models. Or maybe she just wanted to see Stefan.

The building was quiet as usual as she wandered down the hall, taking her time. Betty wasn't at her desk to greet her, but Stefan was in his office, so she let herself in. "Hey" she said, shutting the door behind her. She felt guilty almost, having not seen him in a week. She just … needed time.

"Hi" he smiled, appearing glad to see her. She felt relief wash over her. "Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here?" he asked, offering her a seat.

Elena gladly took it. "I was doing some shopping and thought I would stop by and see how things were going" she told him.

Stefan smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Things are going fine" he answered vaguely. "How goes the job hunt?" he asked, knowing she had probably spent most of her week looking. He noticed the bright and cheery look fall from her face at the mention of her job search. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Elena sighed. "I can't get an interview. I think Gregory has something to do with it" she told Stefan. "Oh, and he knows I took the information he needs" she added, closing her eyes. It really had been a tiring day.

"Is he bothering you?" Stefan asked, his protective nature kicking in. "Because I have no problem having a little chat with him" Stefan informed her.

Elena waved him off and opened her eyes. "Don't worry about it" she told him. She would have to figure out how to handle Gregory on her own. "I am going insane, Stefan. I can't sit at home and do nothing for another day."

"I see" Stefan said, deciding to let the discussion about Gregory go, for now. "If you're bored, you can come over tonight …" he began, only to be cut off by her immediately.

"And have sex?" Elena finished for him. Then she laughed. "Sorry Stefan. But I should probably spend my time being productive" she told him.

Stefan smirked. "Oh, you would be plenty productive in bed with me" he told her. Elena rolled her eyes, but was thankful that he was being playful. "But I was actually referring to something else" he told her.

"Like what?" Elena asked.

"I am working on getting your models set up and I think it would be best if you helped me" he told her. "I mean, you're the one who created them. You have used them and know them backwards and forwards. I can login at home" he said. "It would give you something productive to do" he enticed.

Elena smiled. That actually sounded like something she would love to do. Be able to work with her creations again. She was kind of a nerd when it came to all of that. "I'd really like that" she told him. "What time?"

Stefan thought about it for a moment. "How about 7:00?" he asked. "It would give me some time to finish up here" he explained.

Elena stood up, feeling better than she had all day. Well, the new boots had made her feel pretty darn good. "I will see you at 7:00" she told him.

Stefan smiled as he watched her leave. He actually wasn't going to get much work done. He was going to plan what he wanted to make her for dinner.

**A/N: Somehow, Stefan always ends up being perfect in these stories. Next update will take place at Stefan's place!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Wow, lots of reviews for this story already. Thank you for taking the time to tell me what you think. I hope you like this update!**

Anyone who knew Stefan Salvatore knew he knew his way around a kitchen. He could take anything you threw at him and turn it into the most mouthwatering dish you had ever tasted.

So his Italian braised chicken with red potatoes and an assortment of cooked vegetables was sure to be a hit at his dinner party for two. He smiled as he stirred the vegetables. He had learned this recipe when he was ten and it was a favorite of his.

He only ever cooked for Damon and Bonnie when he would have them over for dinner or when he would go to their house and help out in the kitchen. He was thrilled to be cooking for Elena. Stefan checked his watch. He had about half an hour and he still needed to turn his computer on. After all, she was coming over to "work".

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena felt better than she had in a week as she lugged her bags down the hall towards Stefan's place. She felt like the biggest nerd ever with how excited she was to spend the evening working with Stefan. For the night, she would have a purpose again and she desperately needed one.

She knocked on his door, careful not to drop all of her things. It took him less than a minute to open it and greet her. "Are you moving in?" he asked, pointing at the four bags she was sporting.

Elena laughed. "This is a year's worth of work" she reminded him.

"Ahh, well in that case" he said, grabbing two of her bags from her and standing aside so she could go in. "You can set them right there" he told her, shutting the door and adding the two bags he was carrying to hers on the floor.

Elena could immediately smell something amazing and she saw that the kitchen light was on. "So, are you ready to get to work?" she asked.

"Not quite" he told her, grabbing her elbow and leading to towards the dining area. When they neared, Elena could see a table set up with two plates already fixed with food, silverware and napkins, and two glasses of wine. "I made dinner" he said, pulling her chair out for her and helping her in.

Elena could see that. She smiled nervously. "You didn't have to do this" she told him.

"I didn't do this because I had to. I did it because I wanted to" he corrected, taking the seat across from her. "I simply appreciate you helping me, that's all" he lied. There was definitely more to making her dinner than he wanted to share with her right now. "I hope you like chicken" he smiled, picking up his fork.

"I love chicken" she smiled, following his lead and picking up her own fork. She went for a red potato first, not expecting much. But it was incredible. Clearly, Stefan Salvatore knew how to use spices. "Stefan, this is amazing" she told him. "I'm impressed" she added, digging in to some of the other vegetables.

"Everything I do, Elena, is amazing" he said, bringing back that same cocky attitude he had when she had first met him. "You should know that by now" he added with that infamous smirk of his.

"Mmm hmmm" Elena said, as though she didn't believe him. "No one can be amazing at everything" she told him, enjoying the playful banter that was sure to start.

Stefan sighed. "You're right, Elena. I'm horrible at being horrible" he shrugged, taking a sip of his wine.

Elena laughed. "You might have me there" she told him, grabbing for her own wine glass.

Stefan shrugged. "Stick around long enough and you will find out just how great of a guy I really am" he challenged.

Elena's smile faded slowly and he wondered if he had gone too far with his playing around. "I can't find a job around here, so I might be moving back home" she told him.

Stefan's own smile faded too. "You're thinking about moving back to Virginia?" he asked. That was pretty depressing to think about.

Elena shrugged. "My family is over there. And I have connections, so getting a job probably wouldn't be a problem" she explained. She took notice of what she thought was disappointment on his face, but she pushed that idea aside. They barely knew each other and she certainly did not mean much to him. "It's not a for sure thing, but something I am thinking about" Elena said after a moment of silence.

Stefan was staring at her, appearing to be deep in thought. "I hope you can stay here" he said after a moment. "It would be a real loss for Seattle to lose one of its finest CFOs" he said, giving her a small repairing smile before changing the subject. Because talking about her leaving would just suck. "You're not going to sue Gregory for letting you go?" Stefan asked. "It was unfounded. I'm sure any judge would side with you."

Elena shrugged as she tried her chicken. Damn. That was amazing too. "I could, but, I would end up spending a lot of money to get back a job I really don't want anymore" she told him.

Stefan raised his eyebrow. "You don't want your job back?" he asked.

"I love what I do" Elena assured him. "But if I had to work in the same place as Gregory for even one more day, I'd lose it" she explained. "I'd rather work for someone who will appreciate what I can do" she finished.

"So, I'm guessing you two are over for good?" he asked cautiously. If firing her hadn't sealed the deal for the breakup, the cheating certainly must have.

"Professionally, yes" Elena told him, making his heart stop for a moment. Did she still want to be with Gregory? "Romantically, we had been over for a while" she admitted. She realized there was a lot of focus on her own love life and she had to admit, she was curious about his. "What about you? What's your love life story?" she asked.

Stefan laughed. "You don't want to know about my love life" he told her. Or, lack there of.

Elena found herself intrigued. "Oh but I do" she told him. "You know all about my disaster of a relationship. Now it's your turn. Spill" she said.

Stefan sighed. "Fine" he said, giving in. "Her name is Katherine" he began, deciding how much to tell her. "She and I dated for a few months until she moved to New York" he told her.

"And what does Katherine do?" Elena asked, taking another sip of her wine.

Stefan smiled and Elena got the feeling that he really liked the girl. "She is a fashion designer. She owns her own company" he answered.

"She sounds successful" Elena said, deciding that she already didn't like her.

Stefan smiled again. "She's very successful" Stefan replied. "I'm really proud of her." Katherine had that same confidence that he loved about Elena. Katherine just hadn't wanted to be in a relationship with him.

"You talk very highly of her" Elena noted. She wondered if Stefan didn't still feel something for this Katherine woman. "You miss her" Elena guessed, lowering her eyes back to her plate and playing with her food.

Stefan grinned. If he didn't know any better, he thought Elena might be a tad jealous over Katherine. "Katherine is an incredible business woman, and a horrible girlfriend" he told Elena. "I missed her for a time, but she's happier where she is now. And I'm happier knowing I can still find someone who wants to be in a relationship with me long-term" he finished.

Elena looked up at him quickly, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Was he going to say something about him and her? Sure, they had slept together once, but that didn't mean they were going to be together as a couple. Elena did not want a relationship right now. Sex, sure. Romance, no. Stefan could see her thinking and decided to change the subject. Maybe discussing relationships right now wasn't a great idea with her wound still freshly open. "So, I have my computer up and running. Is there anything else we're going to need?" he asked.

Elena followed his lead in the subject change. "Do you have another monitor?" she asked. Stefan nodded. "That should be good then" she told him. "I can at least get you set up and walk you through it."

"Good" he smiled, continuing with his meal.

Elena looked at her watch a while later and noticed it was almost 8:00. It was getting late. "We should probably get started" she said, standing with her plate. Stefan watched her for a moment before following her lead. Once they had deposited their dishes into the sink, they grabbed her bags and he showed her the way to his office.

It was just as spacious as the office he had at his company with nearly the same setup. "Do you do a lot of work from home?" Elena asked, unpacking one of her bags.

Stefan shrugged. "I used to" he told her. Truth be told, there wasn't a whole lot of work to be doing these days. He sat down in his chair and logged in to his computer. Then, he stood. "Here, you sit here" he told her, pulling the chair out for her. Elena didn't hesitate to sit down and get to work. Stefan grabbed another chair and pulled it around, sitting as close to her as he could.

Elena felt a shiver run down her back at having him so close to her. Even a week of distance from him couldn't make her forget about him spending the night with her.

Elena popped in the first of many disks she had. "Okay, so this program I am installing will crunch all of your numbers for you" she explained. "It takes all of your sales and distributions and keeps track for you."

"Huh" Stefan said. "We, uh, have one of those programs, Elena" he reminded her.

Elena rolled her eyes. "This is something I created, Stefan" she told him, making a few clicks to get what she wanted. "It forecasts for you too" she explained. Stefan leaned closer to her and looked at his screen. "I am going to enter your information in here. The system should sync with your company and import all of your sales" she explained. Stefan watched in awe as Elena worked. She truly was a genius.

Two hours went by and he wasn't bored by one second of watching her work. Her whole body lit up as she worked and Stefan knew that Elena needed to work. It was who she was.

"Finally, this one" she explained, clicking open a new program. "It is my pride and joy" she added. "This is the one that has to be updated" she explained. She began setting it up. "This is your key to bring your business back. Based on these projections, you should be up and running at full speed within a few months." Elena typed for a few more minutes before grabbing a piece of paper and a pen. "Here are the codes you need to update every month" she said, barely getting the first number down before Stefan's hand was stopping her. She looked up at him curiously. "What?" she asked.

"Don't give me the codes" he told her. "You should be the only one who knows them, that way you still have control over your creations" he explained. Then he smiled. "And this way, I am guaranteed to see you at least once a month" he told her.

Elena smiled too. "I guess that is one way to look at it" she told him, letting her eyes stay on his. It was odd, the way he would just look at her like he was interested in her. "It's getting late" she told him. She had spent way more time helping him than she had initially planned.

"Yeah, it is" Stefan said, resting his hand on her leg as he slowly leaned in towards her. Elena stared into his eyes. "Thank you for your help" he told her.

Elena nodded. "You're welcome" she told him. She was happy to help, because nothing would make her feel better than to see the Salvatores come out on top.

Stefan was leaning forward before she had time to react. The next thing she knew, his lips were crashing against hers. His hands fumbled with her shirt until his hands were under it, touching her smooth skin. His lips lingered on hers for a few more minutes before he pulled away. "Think you can stay for a bit longer?" he asked quietly, his hands hinting at what he had in mind.

Elena nodded slowly. "I guess I could" she told him. Stefan smiled as he stood, offering his hand to help her up as well. He held her hand as he led her out of the room and down the hall. Elena felt her heart begin to pound in her chest. Holy crap. She was about to sleep with Stefan for a second time.

He flipped his bedroom light on, illuminating the spacious room. A large oak bed frame with sheets and a comforter she was sure was going to be extremely silky and comfortable sat towards the back of his room. She didn't have much time to admire his room since he was stripping out of his clothes, giving her quite the show. He sat down on his bed and smirked. "I'm waiting" he told her.

Elena realized she was staring at him like a love stuck school girl. She reached her fingers up to her shirt and began slowly undoing the bottoms, giving him the same show he had given her. Her jeans were next, but she only undid the button, choosing to leave them on as she walked over to him. Elena straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands instinctively landed on her back, holding her where she was. She leaned in and rested her lips against his ear. "Wanna help me get out of these?" she whispered.

He made some incredibly sexy noise, something between a growl and a groan, as he flipped her over onto the bed. She looked up and watched as he grabbed onto the bottom of her jeans and yanked on them, pulling them down slowly to get a better look at her. "You, Miss Gilbert, are something special" he told her, dropping her jeans into a pile on the floor. He slowly crawled over her, placing sporadic kisses from her stomach to her lips. "Are we on a time limit?" he asked, biting down on her bottom lip playfully.

Elena groaned until he let go and kissed her. "No" she breathed out when he had finally let her take a breath.

Stefan smiled as he traced his nose along her cheek. "Good" he told her, placing his hands behind her knees and slowly running them up her legs. Her breathing was already hitched and he took that as a good sign. "Now" he said, pressing his chest into hers. "Let's see if I can remember what you like the most" he said seductively, pressing his hips just a little more against hers. The involuntary moan she let out told him he was on the right path.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Jesus Stefan" Elena practically yelled, barely able to breathe with the weight of him on top of her.

He too felt the same way, entirely too tired to move off of her at the moment. She definitely had been much more of an active participant this time around. Hell, she had worn him out. She wiggled under him, clearly trying to tell him that he needed to get up. He laughed, kissing her shoulder before rolling off of her.

Elena had a ridiculous smile on her face as she stared up at his ceiling, her chest still heaving. It was shaping up to be a pretty great night. Now though, it was really late. "I need to get home" she told him, sighing as she did.

Stefan turned on his side, resting a hand on her stomach. "Can you stay the night?" he asked, gently massaging her skin.

Panic seared through her and commitment flashed through her brain. This was getting dangerously close to them becoming a couple. She needed an excuse. "Stefan, I …" she began, desperately trying to think of something, anything.

"Please?" he asked softly.

When she turned her head to see his face, he was looking at her with such gentle, hopeful eyes that it was near impossible to tell him no. "Okay" she said, giving him a small smile.

Stefan smiled too, leaning over her to turn the lamp off. Stefan kissed her lips gently before settling back down next to her. "Goodnight, Elena" he whispered, resting his head next to hers on the pillow she was using. He pulled the covers over them to keep warm, though they would no doubt keep one another warm.

It took almost ten minutes for her body to relax. She found his soft breathing rather comforting as he cuddled her against him. She wondered if he was always such a cuddling guy. It was nice, though somewhat foreign seeing as how what's his face never cuddled. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Goodnight Stefan" she whispered, resting her head against his.

**A/N: Stefan is just precious. Sexy, but precious. **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: As I mentioned on Twitter (TVDVampireKat), this update is pretty short. But, I thought I would give you something since I had a little extra time today! Enjoy :D**

**Thank you for the lovely reviews. I am so happy that you all are loving Stefan and Elena right now. They are kind of just living in the moment and I think both of them need that right now.**

The alarm clock went off the next morning and Stefan carefully rolled away from Elena to turn it off. He snuggled against her again, content with falling back asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, he felt Elena move. "Your alarm went off" Elena said sleepily.

"So?" Stefan asked, kissing the back of her neck as he wrapped his arms around her a little more. She was so warm and she smelled unbelievable.

"You have to go to work" Elena reminded him, sitting up.

Stefan groaned. "No I don't" he told her, pulling the covers over his head in protest.

Elena laughed as she rolled her eyes. "What are you, a teenager?" she asked. Suddenly, she was being yanked under the covers with him. "Hey!" she laughed.

Stefan cupped her face gently and kissed her. "Come in to work with me" he told her.

Elena shook her head no. "I don't work for Salvatore Coffee" Elena reminded him.

Stefan let his hands slide down to her waist as he moved his face into the crook of her neck. "Yeah, but you could be my guest for the day" he told her. "You could help me do … financial stuff" he told her seductively.

Elena closed her eyes and smiled. "Is that your take on dirty talk?" she asked, feeling his lips suck lightly on her skin. It was incredibly sexy as hell.

"Only if you like it" he told her, kissing her shoulder. He felt her hands exploring the muscles on his back and he was pretty sure he was feeling sick that morning and wasn't going to be able to make it into work. Staying in bed with Elena all day was sure to be more productive for him than eight hours at the office.

"I like it" Elena whispered. She really, really liked it. The excitement. The attention. She loved all of it. "But it's not going to work right now" she told him. "You need to go to work. I need to get some things done today" she explained.

Stefan sighed a long and pouty sigh. Clearly he wasn't going to win this discussion. "Five minutes?" he asked, placing soft, sensual kisses on her skin.

Elena felt her skin tingle with every kiss he gave her. "Five minutes" she agreed, laying back and allowing Stefan to continue doing what he was doing. This was so much better than the last time they had woken up together. The awkwardness was completely gone. "I mean it Stefan. Five minutes" she warned.

Stefan smiled against her stomach. He was an incredibly lucky guy right now. And he intended to continue to be a lucky guy.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan chugged his coffee as he walked into his building. He was only running ten minutes late and attributed it to the nine minute make out session he had with Elena in the parking lot. Totally. Freaking. Worth it.

Damon was talking to Betty at her desk and Stefan thought it was pretty great timing. "Good morning Betty" Stefan said cheerfully. "Damon. I need to speak with you" he said, pointing to his office.

"Stefan, how nice of you to join us, ten minutes late" Damon said sarcastically as he followed Stefan into his office. "I'm busy Stefan, so make this quick" Damon told him, sitting against Stefan's desk.

Stefan decided to let his brother's comment go, because what he wanted to talk about was important and the last thing he wanted to do was get into a fight. "I think we should hire Elena" Stefan blurted out, because really, how else was he supposed to bring it up?

"Elena …?" Damon asked, seemingly confused as to who his brother was talking about.

"Gilbert. From Gregory's Coffee" Stefan clarified.

Damon laughed. "You think Elena wants to work for us?" he asked. "Last time I checked, she was doing pretty well for herself at Gregory's Coffee" Damon added.

"Gregory fired her" Stefan informed his brother. "He's being a real dick about it and has basically made sure that no one around here will hire Elena" he added. Stefan was pretty sure he'd punch Gregory the next time he saw the guy. Three times. One for firing Elena. Two for cheating on Elena. And three, for the hell of it.

Damon looked at his brother curiously. "What did he fire her for?" he asked. This was news to him.

"No reason in particular" Stefan shrugged, deciding to not bring up Elena's business to his brother. "But she needs a job, and she would be exactly what this company needs."

"Stefan" Damon sighed. "We don't have a position to offer her, and even if we did, we couldn't pay her anywhere near what Gregory was paying her" Damon reminded his brother.

Stefan knew all of this. He had known all of this. "If I step down as CFO, she could take my position" Stefan stated. So, maybe he had been thinking about this the past week.

Damon looked at his brother like he was crazy. "Are you insane?" Damon asked.

"Not at all" Stefan said seriously. "Elena is our key to saving this company, Damon" he said, almost desperately. "She knows what she is doing. She's brilliant with strategy. And, she wants nothing more than to see Gregory fall. This is probably the best idea I have ever had" Stefan told his brother.

Damon shook his head. "I know what Elena is capable of Stefan" Damon stated. He had tracked Elena's work since she first popped up in Seattle. "But how do we know this isn't all a ploy to take us down?" Damon asked. "Maybe Gregory "fired" her so that we would hire her. Then, she gets all of our information and hands it over to Gregory so he can end us once and for all" Damon explained.

That was probably the most ridiculous thing Stefan had ever heard. "It's not like that. Elena is devastated that she lost her job" Stefan assured his brother. "Believe me, she never wants to see Gregory again."

Damon sighed. "Okay, so let's say my theory is wrong" Damon said. "You expect me to let you give up your job for this girl?" he asked.

"Elena is ten times better at being a CFO than I am" Stefan said, standing up for her. "We had to let go of our entire marketing team last summer. I practically do all the marketing by myself now, so I could take it over" he explained.

"You're talking about an almost 30% pay reduction if you do that" Damon pointed out.

Stefan just shrugged. "If it means saving our company, I'm fine with it" he told him. "Besides, within a few months of her hire, Elena will be paying for herself."

"You're completely serious, aren't you?" Damon asked, studying his brother momentarily.

Stefan nodded. "So, can we hire her?" he asked, smiling.

Damon rolled his neck from side to side and took a small deep breath. "I'll need an interview set up so I can make sure she's going to work out" he told Stefan. "I'm not making any promises. But I'll at least interview her" Damon said, pushing himself away from Stefan's desk. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have a shit ton of work to get done" he said, walking past his brother.

"Thank you, Damon" Stefan told him. He really appreciated it.

"Don't thank me yet" Damon reminded him as he left the room.

But Stefan knew as soon as Elena came in for an interview and started spitting out financial terms and big numbers, she would have Damon eating out of the palm of her hand.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena juggled her coffee cup, muffin, and mail as she unlocked her apartment. She couldn't help the smile she had. Stefan did that to her. Stefan did a lot of things to her, but making her smile was something Elena loved most. She kind of wondered when she would get to see Stefan next. They hadn't set up an exact time.

When she walked inside her apartment, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Her entire living room looked like a tornado had gone through it. The entire placed had been ransacked.

She set her things down and listened carefully for anyone that might still be inside. But she couldn't hear anything. Whoever had come in there and torn the place apart had left.

Slowly, she walked across the hardwood floor, hearing glass crunch under hear feet. All of her picture frames were on the floor, smashed. Her couch was torn apart and the stuffing from the cushions and pillows lay scattered everywhere. Her books were torn apart too and pages were lying on the floor. Candles lay tipped over and her ceramic decorations were in broken piles.

Her kitchen was no worse. The drawers were dumped all over the ground and every cabinet door was opened. Whoever had been in her apartment had been looking for something. Elena stepped around the mess on the floor and went to her bedroom.

Her bed was flipped over and her clothes littered the floor. Nothing appeared to be missing though, reinforcing the idea that whoever had come into her place was not looking to steal just anything. They were looking for something in particular. Something they probably hadn't found.

Panic set in as Elena looked around her room. It would take all day to put her room back to the way it was. She moved quickly to her bed and attempted to set it upright. But it was too heavy for her. So she grabbed for a broken candle holder instead. Her hands shook as she walked with the broken glass to her kitchen to throw it away. She got another look at her kitchen and it was too overwhelming. She slowly slid to the floor, careful not to sit on broken glass. Tears escaped her as she realized what was happening. Gregory was terrorizing her. And he probably wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted.

The thought of someone or more than one person being inside her apartment, going through her things, made her skin crawl. Her sense of safety in her own home had been stripped from her.

And to make matters worse, she was all alone. She wished she wasn't. But there was no one she could call. Jeremy and her aunt would only panic and demand she come home. And calling Stefan wouldn't be fair. He had enough on his plate to worry about. Her life could not get any worse than it was right now. She was sure of it.

But her thoughts were interrupted when she heard her front door click open. Her wish was coming true in the worst way.

She was no longer alone.

**A/N: Uh. Oh.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Well, there might have been a little bit of a breakthrough here in this update : )**

**Thank you for all the sweet reviews last chapter. I am so glad that many of you look forward to my updates. Hugs to you all. We will be okay. **

The door to her apartment swung open slowly, as if whoever was coming inside was hesitating. Elena held her breath as she listened. Footsteps could be heard walking across her floor and there was no mistaking that the person was getting closer to her.

People. She heard more than one set of footsteps.

Elena slowly backed herself up out of her kitchen, quietly and carefully so as not to make any noise that would give her presence away. The footsteps got closer as Elena carefully got herself into a hall closet. She shut the door and covered her mouth to calm her breathing that would surely give her away. Her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest.

"Just find it and let's go" she heard one of the voices say angrily.

"I know I dropped it in here" another voice said, quite clipped in nature. "If you hadn't rushed me!" the voice nearly yelled.

Elena could tell the voices belonged to two men, but who, she wasn't sure.

"Hurry up. If she comes home and finds us, Gregory will have our heads."

So, her suspicions had been right. Gregory was behind all of this. Apparently, there time together as a couple had meant nothing to him.

"In case you hadn't noticed, this place is a wreck. Finding my phone isn't going to be a quick task" he grumbled. "Why did we even agree to do this?" he asked.

"Because Gregory decides whether we keep our jobs or not" was the reply. "You don't say no to him. Look what happened to poor Elena."

Elena cringed that the memory of being humiliated when she had to walk out of the building, having been fired.

There was a pause before the other replied. "Found it" he said. "Don't sign us up for anymore shit like this. It ain't right" he said.

Elena could hear their footsteps retreating out of her apartment. Slowly, she opened the closet door just a little to make sure they were really gone.

It took her almost ten minutes to get out of the closet completely and to slowly make her way back to the door to lock it. It shouldn't have surprised her that Gregory was behind the destruction of her apartment. But it still hurt to know that he could do something like this to her after everything they had been through.

Maybe she deserved this though. After all, she was the one playing with fire. She knew just how angry Gregory would become when he found out she had taken her models from the company. She knew how Gregory ticked. If you crossed him, you paid for it in some way or another. She would be a fool to think he would let her be.

Elena scanned her apartment again and surveyed the mess. She had two options. One was to call the police and report the break-in. The second was to clean up the mess and forget that it ever happened.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan smiled as he stood at his brother's office door, watching from behind Damon. His brother was reading a profile online and was deep in thought. "She's impressive, isn't she?" Stefan asked, breaking his brother's concentration.

"She's okay" Damon shrugged, spinning his chair around to face his brother. Stefan raised his eyebrow at his brother suspiciously. Damon threw his arms up in surrender. "Fine! Elena is impressive" he gave in. "We both know she had a lot to do with Gregory's company rising up so fast" Damon added.

Stefan scoffed. "She had everything to do with it" he corrected. "Her education and experience alone qualify her to work with us" he explained. "But she's smart too, Damon. She will turn our company around in a matter of months."

Damon looked at his brother for a moment. "What is it about this girl that has you so desperate to hire her?" he asked.

Stefan smiled. "Like you, Damon, I just want the best for our family" he told his brother. "So, I will let Elena know you will be contacting her" he added before leaving.

Damon tapped his pen on his desk as he sat by himself. His brother's desperation to hire Elena was baffling. Damon refused to believe it was because Stefan was falling for Elena.

Damon spun his chair back around and reached for his phone, dialing a number he hadn't used in quite a while. Typical that she wouldn't answer. "Katherine, it's Damon. Give me a call back when you can" he said before hanging up. He sat there for a few more minutes contemplating his plan.

He just needed to get Katherine back in town.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena brushed a messy strand of hair out of her face as she walked outside to the dumpster. That was her sixth bag she was throwing out and she only had the kitchen cleaned up. She kept pushing forward though, refusing to let herself cry or feel sorry for herself.

She was exhausted, having spent the better half of her day cleaning up her wrecked apartment. But she had to keep going because she would have nowhere to sleep if she didn't.

Elena rode the elevator back to her apartment, her mind busy thinking about everything she still had to clean up. When she stepped off, her heart nearly dropped out of her chest when she saw someone hovering near her door. Thoughts immediately went to the worst. Gregory. One of his hired guys.

Even worse though. "Stefan" Elena said, pulling him away from his cell phone as he turned to look at her.

"Hey" he smiled, hanging up. "I was just calling you since you weren't answering your door" he told her.

Elena approached him, her breathing beginning to increase as the panic prepared to set in. He couldn't be here. He couldn't see her apartment. Something told her he would make a bigger deal out of the situation than she wanted him to. "What are you doing here?" she asked, trying not to sound too panicky, but wanting to know why he had come over to her place when she had seen him earlier that morning.

"I have something I need to talk to you about" he said, looking pretty sure of himself.

But Elena was not in the mood to talk with him. About anything. "Look Stefan, it has been a long day …" she told him, trailing off with her sentence as she looked away from him.

"It will only take a few minutes" he insisted, beginning to pick up on something bothering her. "Is something wrong?" he asked her.

"Of course not" Elena told him. "I'm just tired" she said quickly. "So, what did you want to tell me?" she asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall.

Stefan looked at her for a moment. "Are you going to invite me in?" he asked. Because really, discussing her future employment in a hallway did not sound as professional as he had hoped for.

More panic. "I umm … I'm re-organizing my apartment right now" she quickly lied. "I have things everywhere. It is a complete mess in there" she finished quickly. There. That would keep him out of her apartment.

But Stefan just smiled. "I've seen your place clean, so I know you're not a messy person" he assured her. "I promise I won't judge you" he said, holding his hand over his heart.

"No" she said a little too quickly. He looked a little surprised, like she had just rejected him in a harmful way. "Really, Stefan. I would prefer we talk at your place" she insisted. "I can meet you over there in half an hour." She wouldn't finish cleaning up her apartment, but at least she would get him away from her place.

"Sure" Stefan said, staring at her like he was trying to figure her out.

Elena nodded. "Okay. I'll see you soon" she told him, stepping in front of him to go inside.

As soon as she grabbed her door handle though, she felt him grab her wrist. Not hard, but it made her freeze in place. "If something's wrong, you know you can tell me, right?" he asked her. Elena stared at her door, paralyzed by his question. Did she know that?

Slowly, Elena nodded. "Bye Stefan" she said, waiting for him to let go of her and leave. He did eventually, and she allowed herself to open her door just enough for her to slip inside. And just enough for him to get a glance at the inside of her apartment.

"What in the hell …" he trailed off, pushing on Elena's door before she could shut it on him. He stepped inside and surveyed the room as Elena stood off to the side, frozen where she was and feeling pretty damn guilty for not telling him that she really wasn't okay. Clearly he could tell that she was not re-organizing her apartment. "It looks like a tornado went through here" he said, turning to look at her. "What happened Elena?" he asked.

Honest. Be honest. That's what was repeating in her mind. "Elena" he said, a little too sharply because it made her jump. Her eyes looked up and met his and he could tell she looked pretty lost. "What happened?" he repeated.

Elena swallowed nervously as she prepared to answer. "Two people broke into my apartment and trashed it" she answered.

Stefan looked at her nervously now. "How do you know there were two?" he asked cautiously.

Elena sighed. "I saw them" she replied.

"What?" he practically yelled in his freaking out tone. "You were here when they were here?"

Elena felt herself become tense. "The second time I was" she confirmed. "They trashed my apartment while I was ..." she began, thinking about how best to phrase the last part of her sentence. "With you" she said. "I found my apartment like this when I got home from shopping after I left your place. They came back because one of them forgot his phone, so I hid in the closet until they left" she finished.

She could tell his mind was on overdrive as he listened to her. "What did the police say?" Stefan asked. Elena avoided his eyes at all costs now. "Please, tell me you called the police?" he asked her. Now he was just plain frustrated. "Elena, people broke into your apartment and tore it apart. You have to call the police!" he said, raising his voice.

"No!" she practically yelled at him. "I'm just going to forget that this ever happened. Right now I need to clean this all up so I have a place to live again" she said angrily. "So just go back home. I'll be over in a little while" she told him stubbornly, waiting for him to leave.

"You need to report this Elena" he told her sternly. He took out his cell phone and handed it to her, but she refused to take it. She refused to acknowledge him as she stood there looking away from him. "Fine" he told her, dialing the local police number and making the report for her.

Elena walked away from him, angry and frustrated. She tuned his conversation with the police out as she sat in the middle of her floor, clearing the space around her so she could have more room. This was a disaster. She didn't want Stefan to be involved, even though she knew he was right. The police needed to be involved. Her home had been broken into.

Stefan pushed her bedroom door open a while later to find her in the same spot she had been in. "The police are here. They would like to speak with you" he said, much more softly and calmly than he had been talking to her earlier.

Elena still wouldn't look at him as she pulled herself up off of the floor. She walked by him, and he stopped her. "I'm only trying to help" he said quietly, seeing that she was still angry with him.

Elena pushed past him, not caring what he had to say. Except, she really did care.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next hour was exhausting as the police questioned her and looked around. She didn't mentioned Gregory, but did answer all of their questions. Mentioning Gregory would only bring her more trouble. If he was capable of destroying her apartment, she wasn't sure what else he might do. "Well, I think we're done here for now" the officer said. "Do you have some place else to stay tonight?" he asked her.

"I'll get a hotel" Elena replied, tired and defeated.

"You can stay with me" Stefan stated. It was more of a fact than an offer, and quite frankly, Elena was too tired to argue with him.

"Very well" the officer said, tipping his hat to them both. "I'll be in touch" he told them.

Stefan shut the door behind them and turned to see Elena looking at her destroyed living room again. She looked like she wanted to cry. When his hands landed on her shoulders, she finally looked at him rather than the mess. "Go and grab what you will need. Then we can get back so you can sleep" he told her.

"What about the mess?" she asked. It needed to be cleaned up.

"It can wait" he assured her. "Go grab what you'll need" he said, pointing her towards her room. "I'll wait out here."

Elena turned and walked to her room like a zombie. She pulled out an overnight bag and grabbed what she could find. Pajamas, a toothbrush. Most everything else was nowhere to be found.

It dawned on her as she looked in her broken mirror just what was happening here. Stefan was telling her to stay the night at his place because hers was unlivable right now. He was concerned for her wellbeing. And it felt … really amazing, knowing that someone was looking out for her. That someone cared.

She found Stefan sitting on her couch, looking through photos that had been scattered all over her floor. He was looking at one in particular. A photo taken when she was five, dressed up like a cowgirl for Halloween. Elena needed to lighten the mood, because the tension and the stress was going to kill her. "I used to be pretty cute, huh?" she asked from behind him.

He turned quickly to see her there and set the photo down on the table. Then he stood and walked over to her. "You're still pretty cute" he said, giving her a melt-worthy smile. She smiled a little too. Rather, she blushed. But it was better than looking all sad and pathetic. Stefan was being really nice to her, and she was starting to kind of like it. "Come on" he said, reaching out and grabbing her bag.

Elena looked one last time into her apartment before she shut the door and locked it. Stefan grabbed her hand and walked alongside her to the elevator. His thumb moved up and down the top of her hand as he held it, waiting for the elevator to come to a stop.

Yeah, Stefan was being really nice to her. And she definitely was liking it.

**A/N: The next update will pick up at Stefan's place …**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I would not be worried about Katherine. Well, maybe just a little, but I think Stefan is pretty interested in Elena. **

**Elena on the other hand is confused. And moody. Never a good combination haha**

**Thank you for reading :D**

"I'm really not hungry Stefan" Elena said for tenth time that evening, pushing her plate away that she had told him she did not want in the first place. Stefan frowned at her. "You said earlier that you had something you wanted to discuss with me" she reminded him.

Stefan shrugged. "It can wait until tomorrow" he told her, pushing his own plate away from himself too. He really wasn't hungry either after the night's events. He looked at her for a moment before he stood and took their plates.

Elena stood as well after a yawn escaped her. "Thank you for letting me stay with you" she said. He turned his head slightly and gave her a genuine smile as he took care of their plates. "I would have been fine at a hotel" she added.

"No sense in you staying in a hotel when someone has plenty of room for you to stay" he threw over his shoulder. There were very few people he would let stay with him, but Elena was one of them.

"So where am I sleeping?" she asked as he shut the water off. He turned around, drying his hands with a towel. His signature grin gave her the answer she didn't want. "I'll take the couch" she said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as she walked towards the living room. She had slept on his couch before.

"Not like you haven't slept with me before" Stefan said, still grinning as he walked towards her. "Twice" he added for personal satisfaction. Elena glared at him. "But, if you are so included as to sleep alone, you can have my bed and I will take the couch" he told her. He was, after all, a gentleman. Most of the time.

He grabbed for the couch pillows and tossed them on the floor. "I'm not kicking you out of your bed" Elena insisted. "I'll be more than fine out here on your expensive leather couch" she informed him.

"Really Elena, I insist" he told her. "I can't let you sleep on the couch when I invited you to stay" he reminded her. "My bed is clean, promise" he winked.

"No" Elena said, shaking her head. "I'm sleeping out here" she told him, kicking her shoes off and sitting down on his couch. "Blankets and a pillow would be nice though" she said, laying back and getting comfortable. Stefan stared at her dumbfounded. "Are you going to fetch me a blanket or do I have to get one myself?" she asked.

Stefan shook his head and couldn't help but laugh a little. "Right away, Miss Gilbert" he mocked, retreating to his room to grab a few blankets and pillows.

When Stefan returned, he found Elena near his entertainment center, holding something in her hands and studying it. "I was four" he said, referring to the photo she was looking at.

"And your brother?" Elena asked, turning to look at him.

Stefan smiled. "He was eight" he said, taking the photo from her and looking at it.

"Well you two were quite adorable" Elena said, taking the photo back from him and putting it back where she had found it. "You're lucky you get to see your brother everyday" she told him, smiling before looking back at him. She would give anything to see her brother more often.

He loved his brother. He really did, but sometimes they did not see eye to eye on important things. "You sure you want the couch still?" he asked, trying one last time.

"I'm sure" she said. "Did you get any work done with my models today?" she asked, walking past him to the couch.

Stefan shrugged. "You could always come in tomorrow and see how badly I am messing them up" he offered.

Elena rolled her eyes. "The instructions are pretty simple to read, Stefan" she told him, spreading one of the blankets out.

Moments later, she felt his arms wrap around her, pulling her back against him. She froze momentarily, waiting to see what he was going to do next. It was exciting, the way he behaved around her with such spontaneity. "I'm much more of a … hands on kind of learner" he said into her ear, letting his fingers walk down her stomach and to her hips. Elena felt her breath catch just at his touch. "Goodnight" he said, suddenly stepping away from her and leaving her completely unsatisfied.

Elena stood where she was, hearing his footsteps disappear. The things that man could do to her with such little effort drove her incredibly mad. Sure. She could opt to join him in bed and have one of the most satisfying nights of her life. But she had to learn to control herself around him, even if he was fun and exciting.

She sighed and slumped down into the couch, making herself comfortable. She fluffed her two pillows and let her head rest in them for a few minutes before deciding that she wasn't comfortable. His couch was not as comfortable as it had been when she was drunk.

Elena sighed again and rolled over on her side, closing her eyes. It was going to be a long, long night.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was almost midnight when Elena woke up, needing to use the bathroom. As far as she knew, the only bathroom was attached to Stefan's bedroom, meaning she would have to be quiet when she went through his room.

She got up and tiptoed across the apartment until she reached his bedroom. The door was wide open and she could see his sleeping form under his blankets. He was breathing softly and from what she could tell, was also soundly asleep.

Elena walked softly across his floorboards, praying that none of them would creak. But it wasn't the floorboards that would give her away. It was the leg of the desk in his room that she caught her shin on as she walked by. "Son of a bitch" she yelped in a whisper, bending down to tend to her throbbing shin. Curse that damn desk.

"Elena?" Stefan asked groggily as he sat up from his bed. "Are you okay?" he asked, turning on his lamp. He could see Elena knelt down.

"Yeah" she grumbled, attempting to stand up. A sharp pain seared through her leg and she decided walking wasn't going to be an option for her. She sat back down on the floor and rubbed her leg.

Stefan kicked the covers off of him and got out of bed dressed in only his pair of sweats. "Caught your shin on my desk?" he asked, sitting down next to her to examine the damage. "I've done it myself quite a few times" he told her, extending her leg and running his fingers over it.

Elena winced from the pressure. "So why haven't you gotten rid of it?" she growled. That would have made logical sense to her. "Clearly the damn thing is a hazard" she added.

Stefan chuckled. "It has been in my family for a long time. Passed down to me from my great, great, great, great grandfather" he explained.

Elena stared at him as she watched him so focused on her injury. "You could give it to your brother" Elena suggested.

Stefan laughed again and looked up to see her eyes. "My brother's fiancé would sooner burn it than have it in her house" he told Elena. "She's been injured by it quite a few times too" he added. "Come here" he said, standing and helping her up. He walked with her over to his bed so she could sit. "I'll go and get you some ice" he told her, smiling as he left the room.

Elena looked around his room while she waited for him. She really hadn't taken the time to notice smaller details, such as photos or pieces of art. One piece of art in particular was a horse statue made out of stone. There were more photos in frames. One of Stefan with who Elena thought was his mother. One of Bonnie with Stefan and another of Bonnie, Damon, and Stefan.

"This should do the trick" Stefan said, walking into the room with an icepack. He sat down next to her on the bed and placed it on her shin.

She winced, but had to admit that it already felt better. "Thank you" Elena told him.

"I'm sorry" he told her. "I should have left a light on for you." He hadn't even really thought about it to be honest. Now he felt bad.

"Don't worry about it" Elena told him. "I don't normally get up in the middle of the night. Just needed the bathroom" she explained. "And still do" she added, removing the ice from her leg.

Stefan grabbed it from her and gave her his hand to help her up. Elena limped away from him and towards the bathroom.

Stefan busied himself around his room until she came back out. "If you sleep in here, you won't risk running into my desk on the way in again" he said, shooting her a smile as he fixed the covers on his bed.

Elena stood in the middle of his room and crossed her arms. "Why are you so desperate to get me to sleep in your bed?" she asked, cocking her head to the side just slightly. She knew why. The sex. She just wanted him to admit it so she could use it against him and call him a sex-addicted pig.

Stefan wandered on over to her and Elena was sure he was about to prove her point. He pulled her arms away from her body and grabbed onto her hands. "I like being close to you" he told her. It was honest and so adorable that Elena had no choice but to believe it.

"You like being close to me?" she asked, looking up at him.

Stefan nodded. "I like being able to hold you close to me" he said, dipping his head down slowly and capturing her lips gently. Sure, the sex was great too. But having someone to hold was so much more comforting. He kissed her for a few more minutes, having no intention of that moment going any further. "Will you stay in here for the rest of the night?" he asked.

Elena was pretty sure if she told him no, it might actually crush him. At times, he could be so assertive and so arrogant when it came to being with her. But at others, like right then, he was so carefree and gentle. "Okay" she nodded.

Stefan smiled and pulled the blankets back for her. Once she was settled, he went around and got in on his side. "Goodnight, Elena" he said, switching the lamp off and keeping a respectful distance.

But it was Elena this time who slid on over, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head against his shoulder. Because she was lonely too and having someone next to you was nice. Especially when life was falling apart around you. "Night, Stefan."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena woke up feeling cold. She reached out for Stefan and found nothing but cold sheets. His bedroom door was shut. Elena got out of bed and went straight to the bathroom to see how much of a mess she was. A few strands of hair were out of place, but other than that, she wasn't completely scary looking that morning.

She had no choice but to go out looking like she did, because her makeup and brush were in her bag in the living room. She fixed his bed, unable to walk away from an unmade one for the day.

When she did finally emerge from his room, she could smell breakfast cooking. "You don't have to cook for me every time I'm over here" she said, finding him at the stove. He was already dressed for the day in his slacks and pressed shirt.

Stefan smiled as he turned to look at her. "I like cooking for you" he said, flashing her one more smile before going back to what he was doing. "Besides, I have something to talk with you about, remember?" he reminded.

Elena's own smile faded slowly as nervousness took over her. What did he have to discuss with her? She plopped down in a stool at the bar and popped one of the grapes from a bowl into her mouth. "Should I be worried?" she asked.

"I hope not" Stefan said, turning the stove off. He turned around holding a plate with chocolate chip pancakes. He wasn't sure how she would take his offer about the job interview with Damon.

When Stefan sat her plate in front of her, he sat down next to her. "Well?" she asked. She was starting to get inpatient.

Stefan took a bite from his pancake and smiled. "So inpatient Miss Gilbert" he said, setting his fork down. He took a big breath and let it out. "Damon wants to meet with you and talk about a possible job opportunity with the company" he said, figuring he should just come out with it.

Elena nearly choked on what she had in her mouth. "I'm sorry?" she asked, not sure if she had heard him right.

"I told Damon I think you would be a wonderful addition to our company" he told her.

Elena stood from her stool almost immediately. "You told your brother to hire me?" she asked. Her voice had raised a couple of notches. Stefan was a little surprised by her tone of voice. He really did think she would be excited about this. "Why would you do that?" Elena asked.

"Because you need a job and we need a CFO" Stefan answered. It made perfect sense to him.

"Salvatore Coffee has a CFO. You, remember?" she reminded him with frustration evident in her voice.

Stefan stood up and faced her. "But you are much better at running a company's finances than I am" Stefan stated. "And our company needs you right now. And last time I checked, you don't have a company to work for" he added.

Elena shook her head. "You had no right to talk to Damon before you talked to me" she told him. The anger was evident now, and Stefan could tell she was trying really hard to keep it in check.

"This really isn't a big deal, Elena. You need us. We need you" he said, beginning to get defensive.

"I do not need you!" she said, raising her voice again. "You or your company!" she clarified. Elena took another step away from him. "I am perfectly capable of finding my own jobs and taking care of myself" she told him sternly.

Stefan looked at her quite confused. "I thought you would be excited about this. You would get to rebuild a company" he told her. This is what Elena lived for. Taking charge and making things happen. He was sure this was a perfect thing for her.

"Coming here was a mistake" she added, turning on her heel and going to the living area.

She already had her bags over her shoulder by the time he found her. "I'm just trying to help you Elena" he told her, equally as angry that she was not accepting his help.

"I don't need you to do me any favors Stefan" she told him angrily. "I just need you to leave me alone" she said, and that time, he heard her voice crack slightly, like she was trying to keep herself from crying.

Elena was out of his apartment before he could even think of something to reply with. He sat down on his couch, completely dumbfounded by what had just happened.

**A/N: A Salvatore does not give up. Remember that!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: As mentioned on Twitter, I went a different route with this chapter than I had originally intended. But, looking at the current storyline on the show, I think I need to make this story a little more light-hearted and fun, as I had originally intended it to be.**

**So, I hope you enjoy where I take it. Thank you again for being such devoted readers!**

Elena slammed her front door, kicking whatever was in her way out of her way. She was still angry as hell, but not at Stefan.

She was mad at herself. She had no reason to walk out on Stefan like that. He had simply offered her a job interview. It wasn't like she had to accept a job with the Salvatores. But she could have at least heard Stefan out. After all, Stefan had been really caring towards her lately.

But she was stubborn and she had been since the day she was born. She had let her guard down once with Gregory and it had come back to bite her in the ass. She couldn't do that again with Stefan. Sex was fine. He couldn't possibly hurt her if all they were to each other was bed buddies. But if she let him in any closer, he would end up hurting her eventually. She would probably hurt him too. Hell, she just had when she yelled at him and stormed out.

If she worked for the Salvatores, it could end up just like it did with Gregory. So, she couldn't associate with Stefan on such a personal level. Nothing good could come from dating someone you worked for. God knows she needed a job seeing as how Gregory was making it near impossible to get hired on anywhere. But working at Salvatore Coffee meant she would have to see Stefan every day and whatever it was that pulled her to him would make it extremely difficult to stay away.

So maybe the answer was to not accept a job with them. Maybe the answer was to move back home and be closer to her family.

Elena threw her bags on the floor and leaned against her door, sliding down to the floor. "Damnit" she said, feeling frustration making another ugly appearance. "Damnit!" she yelled, pulling her knees up to her chest and tucking her face to them.

She didn't know how long she cried for before she finally pulled herself up off of the floor and started cleaning again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan had been down all day and this did not go unnoticed by Damon. "Do I dare ask?" Damon finally asked towards the end of the workday.

Stefan was slumped over in his office chair, staring at his computer absentmindedly. Literally nothing had been accomplished that day because all he could think about was Elena and how angry she had been when she left. He wanted to tell his brother that he was worried about Elena, but decided to just stick with the facts. "Elena's apartment was broken into yesterday. Whoever did it trashed the place pretty bad" he said.

"That's too bad" Damon said. "Is she okay?" he asked.

Stefan just shrugged. He really didn't know. "You won't need to call Elena in for an interview" Stefan said quietly, changing the subject. "She doesn't want the job."

"Really?" Damon asked, leaning against the doorway and crossing his arms. "She doesn't want to work with us?" he asked. Stefan shook his head no. "Huh" Damon said thoughtfully. He didn't like the idea of Elena turning their offer down. "Well, I'll just have to change her mind then" he shrugged.

Stefan looked at his brother curiously. "You didn't even like the idea of hiring her to begin with" Stefan reminded.

Damon shrugged again. Then he smiled. "I like the challenge" he told his brother. "You leave Elena to me, Stefan. And try and get something done before you leave tonight." Stefan watched his brother carefully. Damon smirked before turning and leaving. "Watch and learn, Brother. Watch and learn" Damon said, disappearing down the hall.

Stefan stared at the empty doorway now, wondering just how his brother was going to convince Elena to take the job. If Stefan couldn't get Elena on board, there was no way Damon was going to.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena's head snapped up quickly when she heard a knock on her door. She looked to the clock on her TV and saw that it was just after six at night. Her heart rate sped up. It could have been one of two people. Both of whom she did not want to see, but one less than the other for sure.

Elena approached her door carefully, standing on her tiptoes and looking through the door. She knew who it was, but was definitely not expecting him. He knocked again and Elena stepped back from the door before opening it for him. "Mr. Salvatore" she said, greeting him politely. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked.

Damon looked past her and into her apartment to see the mess. He let out a low whistle. "Stefan wasn't kidding" Damon said, surveying the damage.

Elena looked a bit shocked. "He told you about my apartment?" she asked.

Damon nodded, letting himself inside. Elena shut the door and turned to see him continue walking into her apartment, looking around. "He also said you didn't know who did it" Damon mentioned. Then, he turned around and faced her. "My brother may be an idiot, but I think you and I both know who did this" he told her.

Elena crossed her arms and looked around nervously. "I don't know" Elena told him.

Damon smiled at her. "You have something that Gregory desperately wants. And you won't give it to him" Damon reminded. "I think that gives him perfect motive to trash you place, looking for it" he said.

"You act like you know Gregory" Elena said defensively.

Damon chuckled. "I've known Gregory for a while now, probably longer than you have" he answered. When Elena looked at him skeptically, he continued. "Gregory and I went to school together. We took most of the same classes. And he was just as much of an arrogant bastard back then as he is now" he explained. "So, yes. I do know Gregory. And I know that he would do whatever it takes to be on top. To win" Damon clarified.

Elena felt her lip quiver as she listened to Damon. She was worried. What was the point in continuing to play dumb with Damon? "Are you going to tell Stefan?" Elena asked.

Damon studied her for a moment, tilting his head to the side just slightly. "No" Damon finally stated. Elena let out the breath she had been holding. "You and I both know Gregory will never take the fall for this" he said, waving his hand around at the mess. "No point in upsetting my brother over something that won't make any difference anyway."

Elena couldn't have agreed more. "Can I ask why you're here?" she asked, changing the subject.

Damon gave her a knowing look before following her lead. "Stefan said you were no longer interested in working at Salvatore Coffee" he said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"With all do respect, I appreciate your consideration, but I'm not so sure working for you or Stefan is in my best interest right now" she replied to him.

Damon took a few steps towards her, needing to be closer to her when he spoke to her. "First of all, as CFO, you would be working with us, not for us" Damon clarified. He watched Elena's stance shift. "Is money the issue for you?" he asked. "I am well prepared to offer you a generous salary" he told her.

Elena shook her head. "I find the idea of building and sustaining a company far more thrilling than the salary" Elena answered. "But out of curiosity, how are you prepared to pay two CFOs that kind of salary?" Elena asked. She had seen the kind of numbers the company was bringing in and they weren't high.

Damon smiled. "Well, Stefan offered to step down as CFO" he said, watching Elena's surprised face fall into one of guilt. "My brother seems to think you would be far more beneficial to the company as CFO than him, so he's going to head the marketing department since we lost most of the staff over there anyway" he explained.

"I'm not going to take his position" Elena told Damon quickly, finding her independence and assertiveness finally.

Damon smiled at her. "I don't typically take no for an answer" he told her.

"Stefan does his job well" Elena said, finding the need to defend him, even though she had stormed out on him earlier that day. "Under the circumstances, even the best financial person couldn't bring your company back" she reminded.

"Stefan is pretty damn sure you can though" Damon told her. "So much so that he is willing to take a 30% salary cut so you can run our finances" he added. But Elena wouldn't do that. She couldn't. But she did know she could save their company. "Look, I don't know what is going on between the two of you" Damon told her, causing Elena to look up at him suddenly. Like she and Stefan were some big secret that no one was supposed to know about. "But he sees something in you."

"And you trust him?" Elena asked.

Damon nodded. "About this, yeah, I do" he told her. "Because I have a lot at stake here, Elena. And I have no other choice. I need to save my family's company. Can you help me do that?" he asked her.

Elena stared at him for a moment. "Yes" she nodded. "I can." Because she could.

Damon stepped closer to her, so close, that it almost made her a bit uncomfortable. "Then I guess the only question left to ask is, are you bothered by the idea of completely destroying Gregory and his company?" he asked, searching her eyes.

Yes, Damon Salvatore was good. Very good. The rage began to build in her as she was reminded of Gregory's betrayal. How little regard he had had for her feelings. No. Destroying Gregory was not going to be a problem for Elena. "No" Elena said, giving him a serious look. "I practically built Gregory's Coffee. He would be nothing without me" she said, her voice low but powerful. Damon could see the spark light up in her eyes.

Damon smiled. "Stefan said the same thing" Damon told her. Elena looked up at him again, wondering just how much Stefan shared with his brother. "See, Gregory has always thought about the present, meeting his needs right then. When it came to thinking about the future, he came up short" Damon shrugged. "Gregory messed up by letting you go. He's realizing his mistake. That's why he did this" Damon, said, waving his hand at the trashed apartment once again. Gregory was becoming desperate. "I think you have what it takes to prove to yourself that you were born to run a company financially. I also think our company will give you the opportunity to rub your success in Gregory's face" he added with a smug smirk.

"How professional" Elena grinned, though, she was enticed by the idea of sticking it to Gregory.

Damon lifted his hands in mock surrender. "When it comes to Gregory, professionalism goes out the window" he said. "So, you'll accept our offer?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in what Elena could only think was excitement.

Elena sighed. "As I said, I appreciate your offer. But I will need some time to think about this" she told him.

Damon gave her a cocky grin. "Very well, Miss Gilbert" he said, handing her a business card. "I will look forward to your call."

With that, he gave her one last smile before leaving her apartment. Elena eventually made her way to the couch and sat down, playing with the card in her hands. She looked down at it and ran her thumb over the logo. She had spent years hating Salvatore Coffee's very existence, plotting on how she could make Gregory's Coffee more successful so as to destroy the rival. But here she was suddenly, pondering the idea of working for the Salvatores. Wait. With them, not for them.

It was a lot to think about.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena decided it would be best to speak with Damon in person, rather than over the phone. So, the next morning, she drove herself to the company. She still couldn't get over the fact that the company was so dead inside. It was like they had let go of everyone but Betty. "Hello dear" Betty said exuberantly. "Are you here to see Stefan?" she asked quickly.

Elena shook her head no. "I'm here to see Damon" she told her.

As if on cue, Stefan emerged from his office, having seen Elena. Elena turned to see him, knowing there was a chance she would run into him, but hoping she could talk with Damon first. "Elena" Stefan said, somewhat surprised to see her there. She felt the guilt hit her again as she looked at him. He still looked crushed from what she had done the day before. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Elena looked down at her hands briefly before looking back up at him. "Damon came to see me last night" she stated. "I am here to give him an answer about his offer. Your offer" she said nervously.

"Elena" Damon said, greeting her from the hallway. Then he smiled. "Thank you for coming. Shall we all go into the conference room?" he asked.

Elena's eyes left Stefan's as she addressed Damon. "If it would be alright, I would like to speak with you alone" she said. That had been like a knife plunging into Stefan's chest. Two for two, he thought.

Damon looked at Stefan nervously. "Sure" he said, seeing how disappointed Stefan was. "Right this way" he said, pointing down the hall.

Elena took a few steps towards him before stopping near Stefan and looking up at him. She waited for his eyes to meet hers. "When I'm done, I would like to speak with you too. If that is alright" she told him.

Stefan held her eyes for a moment before nodding. Elena had so much she wanted to say to him right then, but reminded herself that it could wait. She had to deal with Damon first. She brushed by him, allowing him to smell the green apple scent from her shampoo that he loved so much. It was almost torture.

Elena disappeared down the hall with Damon, turning off into the conference room. Stefan looked back at Betty who was smiling at him knowingly. "What?" he asked, almost embarrassed to be caught looking at Elena the way he had. Like a love-struck fool.

"Oh, nothing dear" Betty said, going back to her computer and continuing to smile. "It's just, the last time a guy looked at me like that, I ended up married to him" she informed.

Stefan shook his head, knowing that marrying Elena was definitely not on his mind right now. He was however interested in what she had to talk about though. "I'll be in my office" he told Betty, retreating back.

Damon offered Elena a seat which she took. "So, I can only hope that you have accepted our offer" Damon said, leaning forward with his elbows on the table.

"I have" Elena nodded. "As long as my terms are met" she insisted, pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper.

Damon grinned. "Very well, let's hear it" he told her, motioning for her to read.

Elena glanced at him briefly before unfolding her paper. "It isn't much" she said, glancing at him again. "But these are all important to me. First, there are a few people that I need you to guarantee will have a job with you after Gregory's company goes under" she stated. Damon leaned in a little more. So she was pretty damn sure of herself. And he liked it. "Sara Hill, Jamie Steller, and George Allan" Elena listed off. "They are good people, damn good employees, and I need to know that when I get this company up and running again, they are welcome here."

Damon leaned back, quite impressed with her. "Sounds fair. Get me their information and I will make sure to have a spot ready for them" he said. "Continue" he encouraged.

Elena nodded and did continue. "I'll need you to hire on my old marketing co-worker. She and I work well together and I won't be able to work as fast without her" Elena informed. Damon looked at her skeptically. "She will have no problem ditching Gregory and working with us" Elena added. "He's screwed her over way too many times."

Damon again nodded. "If we hire a new marketing person, where does that leave Stefan then?" he asked. After all, Stefan was going to be in charge of all that.

Elena took in a small breath. "That is last on my list. I want Stefan to work with me" she announced, already seeing the hesitancy on Damon's face. "I know that salary wise, this isn't ideal to have two people running the finances. Which is why I am only asking for enough to live off of. That way, you can keep Stefan on with me" she said. "Because, I am going to need his help. And I think we could work really well together" she added.

"Enough to live off of, huh?" Damon asked. "So what kind of salary are we talking about here?"

Elena scratched the number down on a sticky note and passed it over to him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "People can live off of this?" he asked, almost as if she had offended him in some way.

"It will be just fine for now" Elena assured him. "When we get your company back on top, we can renegotiate my earnings" she told him. "So, if my terms can be met, then yes, I will join your company." She held her breath then, waiting for Damon's answer. He appeared to be thinking it over.

Damon tapped his fingers on the table and looked away briefly before looking back at her. "When can you start?" he asked her.

Elena looked a bit surprised that he had actually agreed. She wasn't so sure he would. "Tomorrow" she answered.

Damon smiled. "Good. I trust that you will fill Stefan in on our arrangement" he stated, standing.

Elena stood as well. "Of course" she smiled. "This is all the contact information you will need for hiring those that I have mentioned, along with Maggie from marketing" she stated, handing him the piece of paper with all of their business cards.

Damon grabbed the paper and extended his hand to which she took. "Welcome aboard, Miss Gilbert" he said, shaking her hand.

"I look forward to working with you, Mr. Salvatore" Elena smiled.

Elena and Damon went their separate ways, leaving Elena to find Stefan. He appeared to be working hard at his computer when she entered his office. "All done?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah" Elena said, feeling pretty darn small in his presence. But it was nothing Stefan was doing. It was her inability to escape from her thoughts. "What are you so focused on?" she asked to distract herself, walking around his desk to look.

"Spider Solitaire" he announced. "Almost beat the computer this round" he added, pretty darn proud of himself.

This actually made Elena crack a small smile. "Thank God there's going to be two of us" she mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" he asked.

Elena shook her head. "I'll tell you later. We have some things to discuss. Is there someplace we could go … to talk?" she asked. She waited nervously for him to answer.

"There's a small coffee shop down the street" he suggested. "One of the few that still sell our coffee" he added, standing up.

Elena nodded. "That sounds perfect" she told him, watching as he grabbed his coat and buttoned it up. She followed his lead and kept beside him as they stepped out into the chilly November air. Snowflakes swirled around them, but there was no word of the snow staying around long. "Do you go here often?" Elena asked as they approached the quaint little building on the corner.

"Not as often as I should" he said, holding the door open for her. It was nearly empty inside except for a few customers ordering to go. Once they had ordered, they took the couch in front of the fire and both watched the flames for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry" she said, breaking their silence. He looked down at her curiously, forcing her to look up and meet his eyes. "For yesterday morning. I was a total bitch, when all you were trying to do was help" she said, sighing.

"You've got a lot of stress right now" Stefan shrugged. He played it off as no big deal, but was secretly happy that she was apologizing and was talking to him again.

"Don't make excuses for me Stefan" she told him, shaking her head. "I know why I freaked out on you, and I'm still saying I had no right to." She looked down at her coffee cup nervously.

"So why did you?" Stefan asked curiously.

Elena shrugged slightly. "I'm used to doing things on my own" she told him. "When I rely on others, I get hurt." If her relationship with Gregory had taught her anything, it was that independence was key to being happy. Before Stefan could reply, Elena continued. "Look, Stefan" Elena said, turning to face him. "I took the job with you guys" she told him. "Under the terms that you and I would work together. And if we are going to work together, I think it is best that we keep our relationship professional" she explained. She had been doing some thinking about it and mixing business with pleasure wasn't such a great idea right now. "We both need to focus right now if we want to get the company up and running efficiently" she added.

"Professional" he said, testing the word. That sounded so … boring. "So that means …" he trailed off, waiting for her to finish.

"No sex" she said, feeling her own disappointment appear. But it was for the best. "We spend time together at the office and the occasional work function. But other than that, we … don't see each other" she told him.

Stefan pondered her explanation of "professional" and decided he did not like it. "I don't like it" he stated, throwing his arm back around the couch and making himself more comfortable. He leaned in closer to her so only she could hear. "Our sex is so good, it could be professional" he said quietly. Just the tone mingling with those words had her squirming slightly as her body suddenly was alert.

Elena moved herself a half inch away from Stefan. "You're negotiating sex?" she asked. "You can't put sex on the table" she informed him.

Stefan grinned and leaned in even closer, letting his lips fall against her ear. He made sure to breathe lightly so his warm breath hit her. "Sex on the table would be amazing" he whispered, twisting her words and resting his hand on her thigh. She quickly grabbed his hand to remove it, but he only gripped her harder. She stopped protesting after that. "You have your terms, and I have mine" he told her, completely changing his caring, concerned demeanor from the night before.

"What are your terms?" she barely got out. She felt his nose trace the shell of her ear and she was pretty sure she was going to have to excuse herself.

"That I can still pursue you even while you are employed with us" he told her, moving back away from her. After all, they didn't have an HR department anymore, so no one could complain that there was an office romance.

"And if I resist?" she asked, working carefully to form her words so he wouldn't see what an effect he had on her.

Stefan chuckled. "I don't see that happening, but if you do, you do" he said, finishing is coffee. Like lightening, he was back against her ear, breathing in that apple shampoo he loved so much. "Just means … I'll try harder" he whispered, nibbling lighting on her ear.

"Stefan" she breathed out quietly. She was losing control and quickly. "We're … in a … coffee … house" she struggled to get out as his hand slowly made its way under her skirt. Granted, no one was paying attention to them, but that wasn't the point.

"All I want, Elena" he said against her ear, continuing to run his hand upwards along the stockings she decided to wear that day. Stockings were his weakness. She was shifting against him, clearly making no attempt to get away, but also wanting to conceal what they were doing a bit more. "Is for you to give me a chance. Take the risk that I won't hurt you" he whispered, sucking lightly against her ear now.

Elena's mouth fell open when she realized just how freaking erotic this whole situation was right now. The way he was touching her. In public. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. His hand continued upwards and she turned all the way towards him, trying to find some relief. "Okay" she barely got out, her eyes clamped shut. He had to stop that right then or she was going to fall apart. God she was weak. Stefan's hand stopped and she felt him smile against her neck. "Okay" she said, breathing out a breath she had been holding. Clearly, her attempt to set boundaries and to be professional had gone out the window. But right now, she couldn't find the ability to care. She just needed his hand to come out from under her skirt and for him to move to the other side of the couch before she lost all sense of ability to function rationally.

"Glad we could come to an agreement" he said, squeezing the inside of her leg before taking his hand back. He had a smug look on his face and she wanted to slap it off of him. "We have a lot of long hours and hard work ahead of us" Stefan reminded her. "We're both going to need some … relief if we don't want to completely lose our minds" he smiled.

"So you want sex from me" she clarified, leaning her head back against the couch to try and regain her dignity.

Stefan laughed. "Well, yes" he answered. "But taking you out for an occasional meal or out on the town will also work too" he told her.

"Is your brother going to like this? Us?" she asked. That worried her. What other people thought.

Stefan shrugged. "If I'm happy, why shouldn't he be?" Stefan asked. After all, he had Bonnie. "Speaking of Damon, we should get back" he told her, taking her cup from her and setting it down. "You ready?" he asked.

Elena just groaned. "Give me a minute" she told him. She was still composing herself. He, was grinning at her proudly. "Wipe that grin off of your face" she warned him, pointing a finger at him.

Stefan grabbed her finger and brought it to his mouth, kissing it. "Glad to know I can still turn you on … anywhere" he smiled. She slapped at his chest, though she was smiling. As much as she was trying not to.

Could she take the risk that he wouldn't hurt her?

The better question was, did she even have a choice? Before she could give it much more thought, Stefan was grabbing her arms and pulling her to her feet. His arm went around her as they walked back outside. "So, tell me, what else did you and my brother discuss?" he asked, enjoying being close to her once again.

Elena stopped him suddenly. "Stefan, I just walked out on you a little over 24 hours ago, and now you're acting like that never happened" she told him, giving him a puzzled look. "Can't you be mad at me a little or something?" she asked.

"Why should I be mad?" he asked. "You apologized. We nearly just had sex in a coffee shop. I'm over it" he shrugged. Elena looked at him like he was crazy. He really wasn't going to hold anything over her head. "Look" he finally said, almost exasperated. "I like you" he told her honestly.

She looked at him for a moment. "You like me?" she asked.

"Yes" he smiled. "I like spending time with you. And I think I am really going to like working with you too" he added.

Elena sighed. "I still feel bad about the way I treated you" she said, letting her shoulders sag lightly.

"Like I said, I'm over it" Stefan told her. "But if you really feel the need to make it up to me, I'm sure I can give you a few suggestions" he said, beginning to walk again. "Did I ever tell you I like massages?" he asked, turning to face her and walking backwards. "Hot tubs on the beach" he continued. "I'm fairly easy to please come to think of it" he smirked, slowing down for her to catch up.

"You are something else" Elena told him, walking to catch up.

"A good something else?" he asked her.

Elena shrugged. "I'll let you know" she told him. He smiled, accepting her answer.

And he smiled even more when he felt her take his hand as they crossed the street. She wasn't looking up at him, but he could tell she was trying. Trying to put her heart on the line for him.

And he wasn't going to let her down.

**A/N: Oh, Stefan. Making girls give in like that is totally not fair. Joking. I'm just mad I'm not Elena!**

**Watching them work together should be … fun.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I did not spend as much time with the office shenanigans this chapter as I had originally planned on. Don't worry. It will happen. I hope you still enjoy this update though. Thank you for your patience!**

**Let me know what you think :D**

The first week Elena had been working with the Salvatores had flown by for Stefan. Probably because he hadn't seen much of her. She was in and out of the office, meeting with potential investors and clients and other financial institutions. Then there was the meetings with Damon and the long phone conversations with other people while he sat and watched her in their office.

Yes, their office. Stefan had insisted that since his office was already set up, she should be in there. And since she wanted his help, then he had to stay in there too. Elena had done well to hide her disapproval because she had too much to get done and Stefan was quite disruptive when he wanted to be.

Like when his leg rubbed up against hers under the desk, or when he unbuttoned his shirt a little while she was sitting there. Then there were the explicit things he would sometimes whisper in her ear when he would walk by. Things that could literally keep her from concentrating for the next hour because he had a way of getting her to mentally picture what they could be doing. Or what he could be doing to her.

But she had been able to resist him by focusing on work.

It was day five and Stefan sat in his chair, staring at Elena. She was typing away on her computer, completely focused on what she was working on. Stefan was amazed with her work ethic. Then again, he loved to see her in her element. There was nothing weak or defeated about her in that moment. She was kicking ass.

"You're staring" Elena said, keeping her eyes locked on her computer screen. Stefan laughed. "You're supposed to be working" she reminded.

Stefan grinned. "I already finished what you gave me to do" he told her.

"Let me see it then" she said. Stefan got up and walked the documents over to her for her to review and approve. Elena grabbed them and set the documents in front of her to read over.

Stefan leaned over her shoulder to read along with her. Really though, he wanted to see what effect him being that close to her had on her. Elena didn't react though. At least not that he could tell. "So" he said, hovering close to her ear. "How'd I do?" he asked.

Elena bit her bottom lip as she continued to read. "Not bad" she said, handing them back to him finally and going back to typing.

Stefan grabbed the papers and stepped back from her chair, quite confused. She normally was very much affected by his presence. But he wasn't going to let it get to him. His was a go-getter after all. Stefan grabbed the arm of her chair and in one swift motion, spun her around to face him. He got down to her level and placed his hands on the armrests, trapping her.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, somewhat startled and somewhat turned on. She could see down his shirt since he had the first few buttons undone. Again.

Stefan smiled at her. A sexy, up to no good smile. "Getting your attention" he stated proudly. "You've been all work and no play this week" he reminded. "Care to join me for a drink tonight after work?" he asked. He saw her working up to being defiant and saying no. "My terms" he reminded before she could refuse him.

Elena crossed her arms. "What about my terms?" she questioned.

Stefan continued to smile. "I would be curious to hear them" he told her.

"I bet you would" Elena replied, her lips turning up into a playful smirk. "I'll have a drink with you after work" she agreed. "If you leave me alone the rest of the day so I can get my work done. I have a lot of catching up to do" she told him.

Stefan thought that was entirely too easy, but he went with it. "Sounds fair" he agreed. Again, without warning, he spun her back around to face her computer. Then, he bent down so he could whisper in her ear. "Six o'clock" he whispered, letting his hands trail down her arms before he stood back up and went back to his own desk.

Her eyes lingered on his for a moment when he sat down before she blushed, shook her head, and went back to work.

Stefan had to admit, having Elena on the other side of his desk definitely made work more enjoyable.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan wandered back into their office after delivering documents to Damon to sign. Elena was still buried in piles of folders and was still working non-stop. Stefan had left her alone as promised, but it was now six o'clock. "Elena" he said, sitting on the edge of her part of the desk.

"Your ass is on my desk" she observed, never taking her eyes off of her computer screen. It was a great ass though.

"And you agreed to have a drink with me at six" he replied. Elena looked up at him, meeting his eyes. Though, her fingers still hovered over her keyboard. She looked like she wanted to ask for a few more minutes. "Shall we?" he asked, smiling at her. Elena turned back to her screen and bit her lip. She really wanted to finish what she had been working on, knowing full well she could be there for another hour at least if she did. But she had agreed to go out with Stefan and quite truthfully, she really wanted to. But she also felt like she needed to finish her work. "Your work will still be there Monday" Stefan reminded her.

Elena sighed. He was right. "Okay, okay" she said, saving her document and closing down her computer. She stood and grabbed her coat from the back of her chair. Stefan stood as well, grabbing the coat from her and holding it for her to get on. "Thank you" Elena said, taking note of his manners.

She began buttoning up the front of her coat when she felt his arms reach around her, his hands sliding in her pockets. "Hey Elena?" he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder and pulling her back against him.

"Hmm?" she asked, finishing up with the last button.

Stefan pressed his lips lightly to her temple, letting them linger there for a moment. "You've done an amazing job this week. Everyone here is really proud of you" he said softly.

Elena smiled, because he was being entirely too sweet and because she knew she had been working hard the entire week and was excited that someone had recognized that. She turned around slowly, still wearing her smile. It was so easy and natural to smile around him, probably because he smiled back. Stefan placed his hands on her lower back and she did the same to him. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you" she said, leaning in towards him. Elena locked her eyes with his. "Thank you for pushing me to do this" she added, her lips finding his.

Stefan closed his eyes immediately, enjoying both the kiss and the fact that she had initiated it. He kissed her back, enjoying their moment.

Elena smiled against his lips just before she pulled away, eliciting a groan from him. "Drinks, remember?" she asked, pressing her lips to his again briefly just to torture him a bit more.

"Screw the drinks. Let's go back to my place" he said, leaning in to kiss her more.

"Uh uh uh" Elena said, leaning back and placing her finger on his lips. "You were very adamant about taking me out for a drink" she reminded, stepping out of his reach. She grabbed her briefcase and began walking towards the door. She stopped and turned to find him still standing there, looking utterly displeased that she had refused him moments earlier. She rolled her eyes at his pouty look. "I never said I wouldn't go back to your place" she stated. "I just want my drink first" she clarified. Stefan's eyes lit up and she could tell his mind had skipped straight to what they could do at his place. "Are you ready?" she asked.

Stefan just shook his head as he walked towards her and grabbed his own bag along the way. "Ready" he said, linking his arm through hers and walking with her down the hall.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When their jackets were checked, Stefan led Elena through the lavish hotel lobby. She wondered why he had dragged her all the way to the U District in Seattle until she saw the bar as they continued to walk. The bartender was dressed to impress and fit in perfectly with the other well-dressed staff and professionals who had stopped in for a drink. "Let's do dinner too" he said, pulling her close so she could hear him. After all, neither of them had eaten yet.

Stefan waved to the bartender before tugging on Elena's hand to follow him. Elena admired the artwork on the walls before being led to a small private table with a single lit white candle. He pulled the chair out for her and helped her in.

"Do you come here often?" Elena asked, remembering him waving to the bartender.

"I used to" Stefan said, grabbing two menus from the waitress who had come to the table. "Thanks" Stefan smiled at her. "We'll start with an appetizer and drinks" he said, looking to Elena for her input.

"I'll have an orange curraut" Elena told her.

Stefan had no idea what that was and had no intention of trying one himself. "Whatever's on tap" he said. Sure, he could drink wine and cocktails with the best of them for work functions, but sometimes, he just wanted a beer. "We'll start with the parmesan baked zucchini" he said, again looking to Elena to confirm. She nodded her head, figuring he knew that was good there. He smiled at the waitress one last time before turning his attention back to Elena.

"This is a nice place. Any girl would have loved to join you here tonight" Elena said, making light casual conversation that completely laid her insecurities out on the table for him.

Stefan laughed lightly. "Yeah" he told her. "Too bad for them though, because I only wanted to bring you" he said.

Elena studied him carefully. "You're really that into me?" she asked, reaching for her drink as soon as it hit the table.

Stefan grabbed for his as well. "I'm really that into you" he confirmed, smiling before taking a sip of his beer. "So I guess the only question is, are you into me?" he asked, spinning the question on her.

Elena's face flushed instantly. The moment of truth. Was she into him, the same way he appeared to be into her? "Look, Stefan …" she began, formulating the answer in her mind.

"I'm just looking for an honest answer" Stefan told her lightheartedly. "I've been honest with you" he reminded.

Elena nodded. He had. "I like you" she answered, setting her drink down so her hands wouldn't be so noticeably shaky. "But I can't help but wonder if us dating and working together is a horrible idea" she admitted.

Stefan's smile faded slowly as he listened to her. "You're really worried about that, huh?" he asked for clarification. She nodded again. "The way I see it is, we just get to spend even more time together" he shrugged.

"Not many people want to spend that much time with their significant other" she said, smiling at her perfect example of a crappy relationship where she had experienced that.

"Good thing I'm not most people" he told her, grabbing for one of the pieces of zucchini on their table. "If it were my choice, I'd spend every waking moment with you" he said, smiling. She looked like she was going to cry in that moment. "I'm fascinated by you and I know I learn a lot just by being around you. And yeah the sex is great and I hope we get to do that again tonight" he grinned, causing her cheeks to turn red. "But like I've said, I like being around you. Whether it is working with you or getting a drink with you. I think you're really special and I'd like to pursue a relationship with you" he finished.

Elena's jaw wanted to drop onto the floor. He really thought about that? All of it? "I'm not as great as you seem to think I am" she told him. "So if you decide you don't want a relationship with me down the road, well, that's really going to suck" she stated. Stefan looked at her curiously.

"Do you honestly think I would spend this much time chasing you around if I wasn't serious about wanting to be with you?" he asked her. "I'm not saying I want to marry you tomorrow, but I'd like to know that I'm not wasting my time either" he said, taking another sip of his beer.

Elena leaned back in her chair. "So how do you propose that we protect ourselves from getting hurt?" Elena questioned.

Stefan set his beer down and leaned forward across the table as if he had a secret to tell her. "We don't hurt each other" he whispered, then smiled as he leaned back.

Elena broke out into a smile too. "That easy, huh?" she asked.

Stefan shrugged. "I don't see why not."

It was terrifying as hell, not knowing what the future might hold. On the other hand, he was giving her permission to not worry about it. Which was a relief. "Okay" Elena said, leaning forward. "So maybe I like you" she told him, her eyes sparkling at the revelation. "And maybe I wouldn't mind dating you" she added. "But I think we should keep things professional in the office" she said. Then she stared hard at him. "My terms" she stated.

Stefan smiled. "So it's official?" Stefan asked. "Am I now dating Elena Gilbert?" He grinned, hardly able to contain his excitement with it all.

Elena shook her head at him and laughed. "Yes, I suppose you are" she said, leaning back in her chair. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into" she added with amusement.

Stefan reached for her hand and ran his fingers lightly over her skin. "But I fully intend to find out" he smirked. Elena smiled at him, prompting him to give her hand a small squeeze. "Shall we order dinner?" he asked.

"Sounds good" Elena said, not bothering to remove her hand from his.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena laughed and quite frankly, she wasn't sure why. What Stefan had said wasn't all that funny, but it was to her. Maybe it was the second drink she was on that was making her feel pretty damn good. Or maybe it was the fact that Stefan was so damn cute that she couldn't help it.

"I love it when you laugh" he told her in all seriousness as he watched her.

Elena slowly calmed down. "It feels really great to laugh" she admitted, finishing off her second drink. "Should we uh, get going?" she asked with a suggestive tone.

Stefan smiled. "Let's go" he agreed, standing and helping her up as well.

Elena leaned into him, placing a sensual kiss against his lips. One filled with a promise of what was to come once they got back to his place. "Thank you for taking me out" she told him. It had been a long time since she had been taken out on a real date.

Stefan smiled and brought his thumb up to trace her bottom lip. "You're welcome" he whispered.

When they turned around, Elena suddenly stopped smiling. "Well isn't this interesting" Gregory said, standing there smiling back at her. Then he looked to Stefan who did not look pleased to see him standing there. Then Gregory's eyes went back to Elena's. "I've been meaning to call you" he said, his voice somewhat sincere. "But since we're both here, maybe we can talk for a moment?" he asked.

"Elena and I have somewhere to be" Stefan said, keeping the fact that he wanted to round kick Gregory in the face, to himself. His hand instinctively tightened around Elena's waist.

Elena turned to Stefan and her excitement and carefree smile were gone. "It's okay. Just give me a minute" she said, her eyes telling Stefan more than her words were. She needed to do this.

Stefan nodded slowly, moving away from Elena and sitting back down. He watched with pure annoyance as Elena and Gregory walk towards the bar. "I'm glad to see that you are still willing to talk to me" Gregory said as they walked.

Elena turned around on him so fast that Gregory was startled. "I'm not" she said quietly, yet harshly. "That little stunt you pulled with my apartment?" she asked, her eyes going wide. "If you were trying to intimidate me, or scare me, you've failed. You've only managed to piss me off even more" she told him.

Gregory's initial shock faded and he found a way to turn up a smile. "You know one way or another, I always get what I want" he reminded her. Gregory stepped even closer to her. "You'd be a fool to ignore my warnings" he said.

Elena stared him down. "You don't get what you want this time, Gregory" she told him. "Salvatore Coffee is improving, and your company is starting to see that, right?" she asked.

Gregory smiled, though she could tell he was becoming angry by the way his fists clenched. "You act like you know so much about the Salvatore's company" he said.

Elena smiled now. "I'm running their financial department now" Elena said proudly. Gregory's smile faded instantly. "You see, Gregory. When you had gone out of your way to make sure no one in this area would hire me, you seemed to fail to account for the possibility that your biggest rival might be interested in what I have to offer" she stated. Damn. She felt incredibly amazing right now, standing up for herself.

"They can't possibly be paying you anywhere near what I was" Gregory pointed out defensively. Clearly, he was caught off guard by her news. Why? She wasn't sure.

Elena laughed. "Watching your company fail, slowly and painfully, is worth more than any salary I could ever earn" she told him smugly. This statement had pushed Gregory over the edge. He grabbed her wrist tightly, his face now in hers like he wanted to hurt her the same way she had just hurt him. "Careful" Elena warned, not a hint of fear in her voice. "Stefan's watching" she reminded. And Stefan was.

Gregory slowly let go of her wrist, not wanting to cause a scene. "This isn't over" he said harshly.

"You're right" Elena told him. "This isn't over until your company goes down" she added. "You and I know, it's only a matter of time without my financial models" she reminded. He looked even more pissed. "Don't be angry with me, Gregory. We wouldn't even be having this conversation had you not cheated on me and then fired me" she pointed out. Then, she stepped away from him, ready to go back to Stefan. "Some mistakes are a real bitch, aren't they Gregory?" she asked. Then she smirked before tossing her hair over her shoulder and walking back to Stefan.

"You okay?" Stefan asked, standing.

"Oh I'm fine" Elena smiled. "But I would like you to take me back to your place now" she told him. "And get my mind off of our rudely interrupted evening" she added.

Stefan wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into a kiss, fully aware that Gregory was watching them. "Let's go" he whispered. "I've got some clothes to get off" he reminded, causing her to blush. "You're cute when you blush" he added, walking with her out of the lounge.

Elena wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so she didn't say anything. She just enjoyed the fact that she was with him. Or rather, leaving with him,

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena and Stefan were both half undressed by the time they made it to his bedroom. If their hands weren't roaming up and down each other's bodies, they were yanking articles of clothing off.

Elena laughed as she stumbled, tripping over her skirt before stepping out of it, all the while trying to follow Stefan's lead as he pulled her deeper into his room. It was Elena though that had pushed him against the wall, smiling before reaching up and kissing him passionately.

His hands trailed down her back, over her ass, and to where he could feel the top of her stockings. He groaned almost instantly. "God I love when you were these" he said, running his hands along her thighs for a moment before running them back up, getting a good feel of her backside before reaching his hands up under her blouse to get it off.

Elena could feel his hands frantic under her shirt and it made her feel so damn wanted that she could barely stand it. "Wait" she said against his lips, stepping back from him. He looked at her like she was crazy for breaking the intense contact they were having. Elena smiled. "This is my favorite blouse. I don't want you ripping it" she said, reaching to the front and slowly unbuttoning the buttons one at a time.

Stefan stood leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. He would have ended up ripping it too because it had those small round buttons that were a pain to get undone. When Elena let her top fall down behind her, Stefan was reaching for her, pulling her back to him. His lips were on hers again in seconds, though he had slowed the kiss down considerably from when she had been in control of it. "You drive me absolutely insane, you know that?" he said breathlessly.

Elena smiled as she ran her fingers lightly down his chest, his stomach, and finally grabbing ahold of his belt. Her hands slowly undid the belt and Stefan was having a really hard time concentrating with her hands down there.

Once the belt was off, the pants soon followed. After all, if she was almost naked, he needed to be too. She grabbed onto his shoulders with her hands, gaining the leverage she needed to get her legs up around his waist. From here, she had better access to his lips and more control over what she wanted to do with them.

The way she had her tongue in his mouth made his knees shake and he had to remind himself that if they buckled, she'd go straight down with him. But the things that woman wrapped around him could do to him were insane. And the fact that she was enjoying herself as much as he was enjoying himself made it so much better.

He pushed himself off of the wall, walking them towards his bed. Stefan fell on top of her, careful not use too much weight on her. He felt Elena reaching for her stockings to attempt to get them off. But he stopped her. "Leave them on" he whispered huskily. "It's kind of a fetish of mine" he whispered, reaching back to run his hands up and down her legs, feeling the soft material under his fingers. It was incredibly sexy. "Any fantasies you care to share with me?" he whispered, kissing below her ear.

"Mmm hmm" Elena murmured, her eyes shut tight as she tried to stay grounded. But with his lips near her ear and his hands on the back of her legs, it was quite the challenge. They hadn't even gotten to the really good stuff yet and already she felt pretty damn satisfied. Though she had come to realize that it was pretty typical with Stefan. He knew how to work up the preview to the big show.

"What are they?" Stefan asked, pressing his body against her just a little more as he kissed her collarbone. She felt her body begin to flush at the intense sensations he was bringing to her. She took a small breath in and then let it out, but it did no good. "You're not going to tell me?" he asked, taking her silence as his answer. It wasn't that she didn't want to. She just couldn't in this moment. "Come on, Elena" he encouraged, moving down her body slowly. He decided to leave her bra alone for now, though he kissed down the middle of her chest.

She wasn't really sure what to expect with him anymore, except that whatever he was going to do to her was going to end with her going completely out of her mind. His lips placed warm wet kisses on her stomach, alternating between sucking lightly and tasting her skin with his tongue.

"Stefan" she whimpered, arching her back slightly. She wanted him to stop the torture, but she also wanted to experience it because it felt amazing.

Stefan smiled and continued working his way down, playing with the band of her panties by biting on them playfully. "Tell me what you envision you and me doing. Anything you want" he said, continuing to prompt her to tell him.

Elena couldn't bring herself to answer him, even though she wanted to. So she remained quiet. Until he scraped his teeth across the inside of her thigh, causing her to scream out. "Okay!" she nearly yelled. "Okay" she said, breathing hard and trying to contain herself.

Stefan smiled as crawled back up her body, placing an innocent kiss on her lips. "Tell me" he said, smiling at his own ability to drive her insane.

"The beach" she breathed out. "I want to have sex on the beach" she said, beginning to feel frustrated.

Stefan thought about that for a moment. It wasn't a half bad idea. "I'll keep that in mind" he told her, kissing her passionately to get them back on track. Her nails scratched lightly up and down his back, as she enjoyed feeling him so close to her. "Do I have a few hours with you, or all night?" he asked, trying to figure out his plan of attack for the night.

Elena sighed contently, falling into the rhythm of his lips and feeling his warn breath against her face. "How about all weekend?" she asked.

Stefan smiled, pulling his lips from hers and looking into her eyes. He reached his hand up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, admiring how beautiful she was. "I could go for that" he told her, getting a smile out of her.

"Good" she said, leaning her head up and capturing his lips one again.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Just a light and fluffy chapter to mend our broken hearts. Hope you enjoy!**

Stefan smiled, lying in bed with his eyes still closed the next morning. Visions of the night before played in his mind. Stefan reached over for Elena, feeling entirely too incomplete by himself on his side of the bed. His eyes opened suddenly when he didn't feel her.

She wasn't there. Stefan sat up some, scanning the room. She wasn't in the bathroom either. Slowly, he got out of bed and walked to his dresser to pull a pair of briefs and sweats on to go in search of her. "Elena?" he asked, walking into the living room. Nothing.

He was confused. Her jacket and clothes were gone too. Had she snuck out and bailed on him? It was upsetting to think she would do that, especially after the conversation they had had the night before. He sighed, feeling defeated. As he walked towards his couch to sit down, the front door opened slowly, revealing Elena on the other side.

She froze when she saw him, like she was a teenager sneaking back into her house after breaking curfew. "Hey" she said softly, smiling. She closed the door behind her and Stefan could see a brown paper bag in her hand. "I uh … walked down to the little bakery and picked up breakfast" she said, holding up the bag. Stefan's disappointment instantly faded but she had still seen it. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Stefan shook his head. "Nothing. I just woke up and you weren't here" he said.

Elena frowned. Had he thought she left? "I tried to hurry before you woke up" she told him. "I'm sorry if you thought I left" she said, setting the bag down and getting her coat off. She retrieved the bag once again and walked towards him, depositing it on the table before straddling his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. "There's raspberry pastries and blueberry muffins in there" she said, knowing full well she was sounding seductive.

His eyes seemed to come alive with excitement. "That so" he said, placing his hands on her waist and resting his forehead against hers.

Elena bit her bottom lip and smiled with a small nod of her head. His voice, the way he was looking at her and the feeling of his hands on her waist was enough to work her into a frenzy if she wasn't careful. "Mmm hmm" she said, brushing her lips lightly across his. "So, since we have the day together" she said, pausing briefly when she felt his hands wander up her sides. "What do you propose we do with it?" she asked.

Stefan kissed her bottom lip sensually, playing with her already heightened senses. Then he smiled. "What would you like to do?" he asked, moving his hands around her back and playing with the material from her blouse.

"It's snowing outside" she mentioned, playing with the hairs on the nape of his neck. "I'd like to go out and enjoy the snow while it is here" she added. If living in Seattle had taught her anything, it was that the snow usually didn't stick around for long.

Stefan's eyes lit up with excitement that matched her own. "My little Southerner likes the snow?" he asked. Elena nodded her head, unable to contain the need to kiss him any longer.

"I used to ski back home" she said, taking a small breather and smiling at the memory of her and her family spending the weekend up at the mountain.

"You ever snowboard?" he asked her. She shook her head no. "Well, luckily for you, I happen to be an awesome snowboard instructor" he told her, not bothering to hide his arrogance that was seeping into their moment.

"You would show me?" Elena asked, excited and intrigued that he would be willing to take the time to help her learn.

Stefan smirked. "I'll show you anything you want to see" he said, winking at her mischievously. Then he leaned in even closer to her. "All you have to do is ask" he whispered.

"Stefan!" she chastised, feeling his hands under her shirt all of a sudden. "I'm serious about the snowboarding lessons" she said, getting him back on track.

"So am I" he whispered, scraping his teeth along her earlobe. "So, do you want to go to the mountain today?" he asked, kissing her cheek and pulling away to look at her.

She nodded her head. "Yes" she told him, still smiling. Stefan took a certain amount of pride in the fact that he had put that smile there. "I have my ski pants and jacket at my apartment" she informed him.

Stefan smiled. "And we can rent you a board" he added. "So you better get home and get your stuff" he said, attempting to push her off of him. He could hardly wait to spend the day with her snowboarding.

"Hold on" Elena coaxed softly, leaning in to kiss him. Stefan instantly forgot about the snowboarding trip when her lips were all over his. His hands snaked their way around her back again and he was just about ready to push her down on the couch until she stopped him. "I'm ready now" she laughed, holding him back.

Stefan looked at her confused. "Ready for what?" he asked.

Elena laughed at him this time. "Snowboarding" she reminded.

He smiled instantly. "Oh yeah" he said, standing up and pulling her with him. "I'll run you home so you can grab your stuff and then I'll be back to get you in an hour?" he asked.

"Sounds like a plan" she said, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Let's hurry" she told him, grabbing the bag of baked goods and running for the door.

Stefan laughed at her, but grabbed his keys and followed her out. He caught up to her just as the elevator doors were about to close. "You look really happy" he said, leading against the wall next to her as they stood in the elevator.

Elena turned to him and smiled. "It's nice to be around someone who wants to spend time with you" she answered simply, bumping into his side before staring back ahead of her.

Even though she was happy, it kind of made his heart hurt to hear her admit that someone from her past never took the time to be with her. Because she was really an amazing person and Stefan knew that he would spend every day with her if he could.

Stefan reached his hand down and laced his fingers through hers. "Who wouldn't want to spend time with you?" he asked, smiling at her to lighten the mood. Elena smiled as well, for once letting herself not dwell on the fact that Gregory hadn't ever truly appreciated her. Not like Stefan did.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena smiled as she watched Stefan. She was sitting down on the snow with her legs out in front of her while Stefan was knelt down, strapping her bindings for her. Elena knew this first time snowboarding experience was going to be a disaster for her, but she was excited nonetheless. He looked up at her and matched her smile before finishing the last binding. "That should work" he said, standing up and offering his arms out to help her up. "How do they feel?" Stefan asked.

Elena continued to hold on to his hands to keep herself upright. "Different than skis" she told him, trying to get the hang of standing sideways on a board.

"I'm going to let you stand on your own now" he told her, having entirely more faith in her than she had in herself. She nodded though anyways and when he let go of her hands, she swayed forward, caught herself, and then swayed backwards, losing her balance and falling back. His arms were around her just before she hit the compact snow and she was pretty thankful for him doing that.

Elena laughed. "I guess I'm not a natural" she said, holding onto him once she was upright again.

"You'll get the hang of it" he said, giving her some encouragement.

"You really think so?" she asked.

Stefan nodded as he leaned in closer to her, letting go of her hands and grabbing onto her jacket. "I'll make sure of it" he smiled, kissing her slowly. When he leaned away from her slightly, he smiled again, seeing her eyes still closed as if she was still experiencing that kiss. "Ready to give it a try?" he asked.

Slowly, Elena nodded. "Okay" she said, bracing herself for what was sure to be a painful fall in the coming moments. She was surprised though when Stefan moved behind her, holding onto her waist. If he thought holding her like that was going to help her, he was sadly mistaking. She couldn't concentrate on what she was supposed to be doing.

Stefan felt her lean into him and he smiled. "You're supposed to be focusing on balancing" he said quietly into her ear. She barely heard him with her helmet on.

"I am focusing … just not on snowboarding" she replied. She heard him chuckle before his hands gripped her tighter.

"I'm going to hold onto you so you don't fall, okay?" he asked. She nodded eagerly and felt her board move under her. She swayed a bit, but he never let go. The hill she was going down was relatively flat and about 100 feet long.

When they were at the bottom finally, Elena smiled. Sure, she hadn't done it on her own, but she had done it with his help. "That was fun" she told him. "But, I would like to try by myself now" she said, bending down to undo her bindings.

"Okay" Stefan said, agreeing to have a hands-off approach. He was a gentleman though and carried her board back up the hill for her. He watched her get back into her bindings and roll around on the ground trying to get up.

"Okay I need help" she said, giving up and sighing, nearly out of breath from trying to get up so many times.

Stefan shook his head and smiled at her as he reached down and helped her up. "Remember to bend your knees and look ahead. Lean back and turn when you want to stop" he said, offering her tips.

Elena nodded, taking a deep breath. "I can do this" she said.

"I know you can" he told her, giving her a quick kiss for good luck.

Elena attempted to hop with her board to get herself going, but she really didn't go anywhere. "Stefan help" she said, feeling frustrated with herself already. Snowboarding wasn't supposed to be so hard.

Stefan gave her a small push and watched her slowly retreat down the hill. She was doing great too. Until she leaned back too far and wiped out. He jogged down the hill after her. "You okay?" he asked, standing over her.

"I think so" Elena said, staring straight up at him. She lifted her arms and let Stefan pull her up. "Again" she said. Stefan smiled with relief. She was a lot tougher than she looked.

It was two hours of falling before Elena made it down the hill all by herself. She was sure she was going to be sore the next day, but it was totally worth it. She was already planning to go on the chairlifts the next time he brought her. "You did amazing" Stefan said, his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the ski lodge.

Elena welcomed the warm air as they took their seat in a booth towards the back. "Am I going to hurt tomorrow morning?" she asked, rolling her shoulder slightly when she felt how stiff it was.

"Probably" Stefan said. "I'm going to get us something warm to drink" he said, standing up. He leaned over her and kissed the top of her head gently. "I'll give you a massage later" he told her.

Elena couldn't help but feel excited about that. She took her jacket off and spent the next few minutes looking out the window at the falling snow. It had really started coming down the last hour they were outside. Stefan returned a few minutes later with hot chocolate and soup, salads, and breadsticks. "It is so pretty here" Elena said, looking out the window again. To be honest, she didn't want to leave.

"We should stay the night here" he mentioned, watching her admire the view outside. Elena turned to look at him. "They have resort rooms."

Elena looked hesitant. It wasn't like they were at his place or her place. They were away. Together. "It would be our first time away together" she said, staring into his eyes.

Stefan picked up on her hesitancy. "It's up to you" he told her. "I'd be happy either way" he added.

Elena grabbed for her hot chocolate and looked back out the window. She was having fun and was with someone she really liked. She really had to reason to be so hesitant. "Okay" she answered. "I'd like to stay." She smiled and looked back at him. He seemed really happy with her answer.

Stefan smiled again and passed her the soup and a salad. "You start without me. I'll go and book us a room before they sell out" he told her.

"Let me pay for the room" Elena insisted. He had paid for her snowboard rental and had driven up there.

"What kind of boyfriend lets his girlfriend pay for the room?" he asked, backing away and smiling. "I'll be right back" he added before disappearing.

Elena sat there, speechless. Boyfriend. Was that what he was now? She felt her phone buzz and reached into her pocket the grab it. It was a text message from Stefan. "Don't look so surprised" she read. "You could do a lot worse."

Elena set her phone down and smiled. Yeah, she could definitely do a lot worse.

**A/N: To be continued …**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Here it is! Thank you for being so patient.**

**Just a bit of a lighthearted chapter that I hope you will enjoy.**

Elena was pretty sure she could have stayed like she was forever. Leaning against Stefan, with one of his arms around her, sitting by the window and watching the snow continue to swirl around before landing on the ground and coating the already white blanket forming. She sighed contently, loving the way Stefan was twirling strands of her hair around his fingers and then letting them unwind. He had been doing this for the past 20 minutes.

It was almost unreal, how amazing she felt in that moment. "I wish I had met you first" she said quietly, without really thinking before she spoke.

There was silence for a moment before she felt his arm tighten around her and his lips press against her temple. "I wish I had met you first too" he said back. If every day could have been like the present moment, he was pretty sure his life would have been perfect. "What do you want to do for dinner?" he asked, nuzzling his nose against her cheek.

Elena smiled and grabbed his hand with hers. "I don't want to leave this spot" she said, looking up at him and smiling.

"Then we won't" he told her, leaning down slightly to kiss her lips softly. Elena tilted her head back, making it easier for him. "We'll order in" he smiled, kissing her again. Stefan reached over and opened a drawer, pulling out a handful of menus. "These places will deliver I hope" he said, dropping them in her lap.

Elena picked up the first one and examined it. "I kind of feel like pizza I think" Elena said, looking over the pizza options. "That one" she confirmed, pointing at one halfway down the page with a lot of toppings. "And these" she added, pointing at the garlic bread twists. "What do you want?" she asked, realizing she was taking over in the ordering department.

Stefan grabbed the menu from her hands and tossed it aside before pulling her even closer. "You" he whispered against her ear. A smile appeared instantly and she couldn't help but feel silly for how happy he was making her feel right at that moment. "But" he added. "If you're inquiring about the pizza, what you chose is fine by me" he told her.

Elena shook her head and laughed as she sat up suddenly. "I'll go and order it" she said, attempting to get up. His arms locked around her though. "Stefan" she said, trying to pry his arms apart.

"We can order from here" he told her, reaching over her to grab his phone. "What's the number?" he asked. Elena rattled it off and Stefan placed the order. "Should be here in half an hour" he said, setting his phone back down. Then he settled back down into his spot and Elena did the same, letting her body melt back into his so she was comfortable again.

"I might fall asleep in that time" she said, stifling a yawn. Falling down for two hours straight had really taken it out of her.

Stefan kissed the top of her head. "You can take a nap right here with me if you want" he told her, resting his head against hers.

Elena closed her eyes and sighed. "You're good at this" she said quietly.

"Good at what?" he asked, rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb.

"This" she said, grabbing his hand with hers and squeezing it. "Being so attentive. So loving" she told him. "I love feeling … like you want to be with me" she added. Then, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I hope you know I want to be with you, too" she added.

He swore his heart stopped for just a moment as he let her words sink in. "I do now" he said. No one he had dated had ever really been content with just … being with him. It was nice though, cuddling with her and watching the snow fall.

"Good" Elena sighed, turning her head slightly to get more comfortable.

Stefan closed his own eyes and listened to her breathe.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena sat on the floor in front of the fire with a blanket slung around her shoulders and half a slice of pizza in her hand. Stefan was next to her, having opted out of having a blanket. "Is that really you?" Stefan asked, holding Elena's phone as he scrolled through her photos she had uploaded from when she was younger. "Because you are absolutely adorable" he said, looking up at her. Elena blushed. He had asked if she had any photos of herself on Facebook and when she had logged in to let him see, he had gone straight for the ones of when she was a kid. "Look at that yellow dress and those big yellow bows in your hair" he teased. "What were you, like four?" he asked.

Elena reached for her phone and took it from him. "I was six" she said, looking at the photo on her phone again. "I remember my mom taking me shopping and picking this dress out for me" Elena said, smiling at the memory. "I felt like a princess that day" she added.

Stefan smiled. "Your parents must be really proud of you" he said. She was extremely smart and successful.

Elena smiled, but this time, Stefan noticed she looked sad. "I hope they are" she said, handing her phone back to Stefan.

Stefan looked at her curiously. "Of course they would be" Stefan assured her. "Don't they tell you?" he asked.

Elena's smile faded and she put her slice of pizza down before turning and looking at him. "They died when I was 17" she told him. "As far as they knew, I was going to be a journalist" she said.

Stefan instantly felt like an idiot for not knowing about her parents and then bringing them up when they were having such a great time. "Elena, I'm so sorry" he said. He was fearful that he had ruined the entire weekend and that she would want to go home.

Elena shrugged. "It's a horrible thing to lose your parents. But it's also horrible to go on living your life without moving forward, too" she told him. "I miss them" she said, smiling again as she looked over at him. "But I can't change what happened. So I remember all the good times we had. It keeps me going" she added.

"You are truly inspiring, you know that?" he asked her, grabbing her hands in his.

Elena looked at him for a moment. "How can you be the same man who almost had sex with me in a restaurant bathroom?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Stefan grinned. "Oh, I'm still him" he assured her, setting her phone down and reaching for her. He pulled her closer to him, having decided that her being even a foot away from him was entirely too far. Stefan kissed her cheek as he held her close. "But I'm also incredibly loving and sincere too" he added.

"I think that's what I like about you" she said, wrapping her arms around his. "You have this element of surprise to you because I never know whether you're going to push me up against a wall and feel me up or hold me and tell me how amazing I am" she told him.

"Which do you like more?" he asked.

Elena smiled. "Depends on my mood" she informed him.

"I see" Stefan said, hugging her tight and kissing along her neck. "I think … right now … you …" he said in-between kissing down her neck. "Want me … to … hold you and kiss you and tell you how amazing I think you are" he said.

Elena smiled. "I think you're right" she said, tilting her head up slightly so he could kiss her. She flinched slightly as her body turned. He broke the kiss and looked worried. "My muscles are sore" she told him, finally feeling the effects of her day snowboarding.

"I owe you that massage still" he reminded, moving away from her and standing up. He pulled her up with him. Elena laughed when his arms wrapped back around her, walking with her towards the bedroom.

An oak bed sat in the middle of the room with plenty of pillows. Elena grabbed two of the pillows and laid across the bed on her stomach. "Alright Mr. Masseuse, let's see your skills" she said, turning her head to the side and smiling at him.

Stefan gave her that cocky grin that let her know what was about to happen would be pretty damn amazing. He knelt down next to her on the bed and rolled up the sleeves on his sweater. His hands then rested on her lower back. "Would it be easier with my shirt off?" she asked so completely innocently, though the smirk she was sporting gave her away completely.

Stefan smiled. "Probably" he said, removing his hands as she sat up some and peeled her shirt off. She turned away from him and removed her bra, tossing it towards her discarded shirt before lying back down and concealing herself.

She sighed and closed her eyes as his hands moved ever so slowly along her back, finding tight muscles and working them loose before moving on. She had had massages before by professionals, but she had to admit, Stefan wasn't half bad. "That feels really good" she said quietly, smiling as he continued.

Stefan enjoyed touching her soft warm skin, working loose muscles that he knew were bothering her as a result of falling so much earlier. "Yeah?" he asked, moving up to her shoulders and rubbing them slowly. Elena sighed contently again and nodded.

He continued to work on her shoulders for another few minutes before working back down her back and then to her legs, making sure to get her backside as well. "I think my ass if fine" Elena told him, opening one eye and looking back at him.

Stefan grinned as he ran his hand back over her, giving it another squeeze. "It sure is" he said, dodging her hand that was trying to swat at him. He moved down her legs, getting her thighs and her calves loose. "Feel better yet?" he asked.

Elena rolled over with a pillow to cover herself with and smiled. "I feel much better" she told him. He looked so proud of himself and she thought it was adorable, the way he loved being so attentive. "Come here" she invited, missing him being right next to her.

Stefan didn't hesitate as he crawled back up the bed towards her. He grabbed her pillow from her and covered her body with his, crashing his lips against hers. He didn't know if it was possible to want to be with someone as much as he wanted to be with Elena. But whatever they had going was working out pretty well for him. He felt her hands grabbing at the ends of his sweater, so he sat up some, breaking the kiss so he could help her get it off. She sat up too and before he knew it, he was being pushed onto his back with her on top of him. He looked up at her a bit surprised, but then he just laughed. "That was by far the hottest thing I have ever seen you do" he told her.

Elena couldn't help but smile as she shook her head at him. "Are you going to laugh at me all night or are you going to help me get your pants off?" she asked.

In-charge Elena was sexy as hell. But he liked the element of surprise that they had going. Elena laughed as she felt herself being flipped over and him hovering back over the top of her. His lips were deathly close to her ear as he took a moment to breathe her in. "What's the rush?" he whispered. "We've" he said, placing a wet, warm kiss against her neck. "Have … all … night" he reminded, biting down on her neck lightly, though the gesture had her begging him for more.

More that he was sure to give her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena never said how disappointed she was that they had to leave the mountain, but he could tell. He had taken her snowboarding for another two hours before they headed for home. "I'll take you again" he said as he pulled into her apartment complex. "Maybe we can plan to stay for a few days next time" he added.

"I'd like that" Elena smiled, leaning over in her seat and kissing him. "Thank you for taking me." She had enjoyed every moment of it. "You don't have to walk me up" she said, seeing him take his seatbelt off.

"But I want to" he replied.

"I'm really tired. I'm going to take a nap for a few hours" she said, hinting that she wanted to be by herself for a bit. If she let him come up, she'd probably never get him to leave. Not that she would want him to.

"What do you know. I need a nap too" he said, raising his eyebrows at her as he smiled.

Elena shook her head no. "You and I both know that no napping will get done if you come with me" she said. He gave her a pouty look and she couldn't help but laugh at him. "You kept me up practically all night" she reminded.

He scoffed. "Don't blame me" he warned her. "It's your fault I can't keep my hands off of you" he said. "You're too sexy" he added with his signature grin.

Elena rolled her eyes. "You are such a smooth talker" she said sarcastically as she opened her door. "I will see you tomorrow, Stefan" she told him, leaning over one last time to kiss him goodbye. "Bye" she whispered, rubbing some of her chap stick off of his lips with her thumb.

"I will miss you terribly" he told her, kissing her lingering thumb.

"You are entirely too sweet for your own good" she told him, patting his cheek before getting out of his car. "You're going to have to get me my car back eventually" she reminded.

"Or you can just call me and I'll drive you around" he called out just before she shut the door. He saw her smile at him before walking away. He leaned his head against the headrest and sighed. He missed her already.

His phone rang out though and he grabbed it quickly, hoping it was Elena. He sighed as he answered. "Bonnie" he greeted unenthusiastically.

"Well hello to you too" she said sarcastically. "I was calling to invite you to dinner, but now, I don't know if I want to" she added.

Stefan smiled. "Sorry. Just thought you were someone else" he said, being honest with her.

"Oh I see how it is" she told him. He loved their playful banter. "We will discuss your phone greeting skills at dinner tonight at our house. Be here by six" she instructed.

He hadn't had dinner with Damon and Bonnie in quite some time, so he figured he couldn't get out of it. "Can I bring Elena?" he asked.

There was a pause on her end of the line and he was pretty sure she was containing her excitement. "Of course you can bring Elena" she said as neutrally as possible. "I'll set a place for her" she added.

"Great" Stefan said. "See you at six" he added before hanging up.

He scrolled through his contacts and chose Elena. The phone ran three times before she picked up. "What Stefan?" she asked. She sounded annoyed and exhausted, but he also knew she probably expected him to call too. "Would you like to have dinner with my brother and Bonnie tonight?" he asked.

"Like, the four of us?" she asked after a moment.

Stefan smiled. "Yes, like the four of us" he said. "It will be at their house at six."

There was more silence before she spoke again. "Are you sure it won't be … awkward. With Damon being my boss and all?" she asked.

"Not at all" he answered. "Plus, Bonnie would love to have you there. She's always complaining that it's us guys against her all the time" he said. "She needs another girl to balance things out."

More silence. "Okay" she finally said. "I'll take a cab to get my car and meet you over there" she insisted. "Text me the address" she added. "And don't call me again. I really need my nap now" she told him sternly, though he detected the playfulness in her voice.

"Okay Elena" he said, completely making fun of her.

"Okay Stefan" she said, mocking him and making him laugh.

She hung up and he continued to smile at his phone. He was entirely too excited about bringing Elena to dinner at his brother's house. This made things more real for him. For them.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena walked up the walkway nervously, clutching the bottle of wine in her hand. Stefan's car was already in the drive, but the closer she got, the more she started to worry that this was a bad idea. She was pretty sure Damon knew about her and Stefan. But he never really brought it up in front of her and to make things even weirder, she was about to be a guest in her boss's home.

Then again, she had slept with her last boss, so maybe things weren't as weird as they could be.

Before she could knock, the door swung open and a pair of bright brown eyes were staring brightly at her. "You came!" Bonnie said excitedly, throwing her arms around Elena and hugging her tight. "I'm so happy you're here" she said, letting Elena go.

"Thank you for having me" she said politely. "I brought this" she said, holding out the bottle of wine for her.

"That is so sweet of you, thank you" Bonnie said cheerfully as she took the bottle. "Please, come in" she said, grabbing Elena's hand and pulling her in. "The boys are in the kitchen. Dinner is just about ready" she added.

Elena followed Bonnie through the lavish house, admiring the décor. The house was extravagant and all she secretly wanted to do was sneak off and go and look around. "Look who is here!" Bonnie announced as they rounded the corner into the kitchen.

Stefan was the first one to smile at her as he turned around, holding a whisk. "Hello Elena" Damon greeted, much more professionally than Bonnie had. "Nice to see you again."

"It was nice of you to invite me over. You have a beautiful home" she said, equally as professionally and as politely.

Damon smiled at her. "Thank you" he replied. "Please, make yourself at home. Bonnie, maybe you'd like to give her a tour?" he suggested.

Before Bonnie could even reply, Stefan beat her to it. "I will!" he volunteered a little too quickly. He dropped his whisk back in the pot and walked to Elena, grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the kitchen. "This is the living room" he said, rushing through it with Elena in tow. "Dining room" he added, rushing through there too. When they were at the other end of the house, he opened up a closet, pushed her inside, and shut the door.

"Closet?" Elena asked in the complete dark.

"Mmm hmm" Stefan said before pinning her body with his and kissing her. He came up for air after a bit and smiled. "God I've missed you" he said, brushing his lips against hers lightly.

"It's only been a few hours" she reminded, though she was happy to have been missed. "But I'm glad to hear you've missed me. Because I've missed you too" she admitted. "My nap wasn't as amazing as it would have been had you been there too" she added.

"Well, you'll know for next time" he said suggestively, causing her to smile again. "I'm glad you're here" he said, kissing her lips gently again.

"I'm glad I'm here too" she said softly, wrapping her arms around his neck and playing with the hairs on the nape of his neck. "We should probably get back out there though, before they get suspicious" she added.

"Yeah, you're right" he agreed, kissing her one last time before pushing the door open and looking out. The coast was clear as he led Elena out and shut the door behind them. "Come on. I'll show you the rest of the house" he offered, holding her hand as he led her up the stairs. Elena followed, smiling a ridiculous smile from their previous make-out session.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

By the time dinner had been served, Elena had seen the entire house and learned about much of its history. "So, Elena" Bonnie said, being the first one to speak up. Elena froze momentarily, wondering what she was going to say or ask. "How are you liking working with these two?" she asked.

Damon and Stefan's eyes were both on Elena now, waiting for her answer. Elena swallowed nervously. "It's great" she answered honestly, smiling slightly before taking a sip of her wine.

"Well if you ever have an issue with either one of them" Bonnie said, looking at both her fiancé and Stefan. "You can always tell me and I will take care of it" she added with the tiniest hint of a smirk. Elena smiled, realizing that Bonnie definitely had a little bit of fire inside of her that was sure to make her interesting to be around.

"Honey" Damon said, grabbing her hand with his. "Let's not discuss work right now" he said. "I think we should get to know Elena a little bit" he announced. "If that is okay with you, Elena" he added.

Elena nodded slowly. She didn't know why she was so nervous. She felt Stefan's hand on her knee, attempting to quiet her bouncing leg under the table. "What would you like to know?" she asked.

"What made you want to run a company's finances?" Bonnie asked, beating Damon to any question he had. Honestly, Bonnie thought businesses were boring. But Elena was far from boring, so she was interested in what Elena had to say.

Elena looked up at Stefan who smiled at her. "I like the challenge of figuring numbers out" Elena answered. "There's a lot of different ways to work with numbers, but there is usually one right way that makes the largest impact. I like finding that way" she added.

Bonnie was leaning on the table with her elbows, completely enthralled with what Elena had to say. "I've never thought about it like that" Bonnie said. "All I ever see Stefan do in the office is play computer games" she added, earning herself a glaring look from Stefan.

Elena laughed. "Well, he knows he can't play computer games anymore. We've got a schedule to keep" she explained.

"I don't always play computer games" Stefan grumbled. Elena placed her hand on top of his under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He soon forgot why he was irritated with Bonnie.

There were so many questions Bonnie wanted to ask, but knew she couldn't ask all of them in front of the boys. "What are your plans for Thanksgiving?" Bonnie asked.

Thanksgiving was right around the corner. "I'm flying back home to Virginia to see my aunt and my brother" Elena answered. She looked over at Stefan who looked like he didn't know what to say to that. Did he expect her to stick around and spend it with him?

"That's nice" Bonnie answered, clearly not excited about the answer either. "Do you have any other family?" she asked.

"Bonnie, I don't think Elena wants to tell us all the details of her life" Damon said, looking at Elena apologetically.

But Elena brushed off his concern. "No. Just those two" she answered. "I'm looking forward to seeing them. I haven't been back home in a while" she added.

Bonnie smiled. "I bet they can't wait to see you" she told Elena. "Will you be attending the cocktail gala benefitting school art programs?" she asked, switching subjects again. "We go every year" Bonnie added. "Stefan, you're going, right?" she asked, turning her attention towards him.

"Yep" he said, taking a drink of his wine. "You'll go with me?" he asked, turning towards Elena.

"I will" she smiled. She had attended the last two years, though it was with Gregory. "I'm sure I will have a much more enjoyable time this year" she added.

Stefan patted her knee under the table. "Oh, I guarantee you will" he said, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

Dinner continued and as the evening wore on, Elena noticed it was a lot less awkward being there. Bonnie continued to ask questions, but Elena decided she was harmless. "You two are so cute together" Bonnie whispered to her as they were heading to the living room to play cards.

Elena smiled, feeling as though she was gaining a new friend that she could gossip about boys with. "He's great" Elena whispered back. Well, more than great. But, she didn't have to tell Bonnie that.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Had the night off, so I am updating :) Thanks for your reviews on No One Knew (my newest one-shot). I appreciated what you all had to say.**

**I hope you enjoy this update as well! I will update again this weekend!**

"Are you sure you have to go?" Stefan asked. Elena was leaning against her car with Stefan standing in front of her, holding onto her hips and giving her his adorable, wanting eyes.

She smiled, and ran her fingers up and down his arms. "I'm sure" she answered. "I need a good night's sleep for work tomorrow" she explained. Again, he pouted. "Stefan" she sighed. "I can't sleep with you every night" she reminded him.

Stefan leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. "We don't even have to do anything. We could just … cuddle" he suggested, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her even closer. "I promise … you'll love it" he whispered all seductively to the point where she knew she was screwed.

"You promise? Cuddling only?" she asked.

Stefan nodded, smiling as he kissed her lips gently. "It will be the best night's sleep you ever got" he promised her. "Because you'll be tucked in right against me so you stay warm, and my arms will be wrapped around you …" he trailed off. If that didn't entice her, he didn't know what would.

Elena sighed, feeling herself leaning into him. "You make it really hard to say no" she laughed softly.

"So we can cuddle tonight?" he asked. He sounded like an excited little boy in a candy store, about to get whatever he wanted.

"We can cuddle tonight" she answered him. "At my place. You can meet me there" she said.

"I will meet you there" he said, kissing her lips softly. "I'll see you in fifteen" he said, pulling her away from her door so he could open it for her. He had to run home and grab clothes for the next day since he didn't plan on going back to his place.

"Okay" Elena smiled, kissing him quickly before getting in her car. He shut her door for her and waved as she backed out of the driveway.

As soon as she was out of sight, he dug his keys out of his pocket, ready to leave too. "Hey" Damon said, walking towards him. "Do you think you could help me put an entertainment center together really fast?" he asked.

"Nope" Stefan answered. "I have somewhere to be" he said, brushing past his brother and unlocking his car.

"So are you two, like kind of together now?" Damon asked, effectively stopping Stefan in his tracks.

Stefan turned around, sporting a proud smile. "Oh, we're really together now" he corrected. "I'll see you tomorrow" he said, waving before getting into his car.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena smiled when she heard a knock at her door. She put the pillow back down on the bed and went to answer it. He practically lunged for her when she opened the door, getting his arms around her as she laughed and failed to try very hard to get away. "You're late" she pointed out as he kicked her door shut and locked it.

"I was finding my pajamas" he growled against her ear. "I haven't had much use for them lately" he added, nibbling lightly on her ear.

"Stefan …" she warned.

"I know, I know" he said. "I'm just trying to get it out of my system" he said huskily, leaving wet, open-mouthed kisses against her ear. He felt her body sag against his, clearly reacting to his advances. "You …" he said, kissing her ear again, but this time, running his hand under her shirt and across her toned stomach. "Drive …" he said, letting out a ragged breath. "Me." "Crazy" he finished, breathing her in.

Elena turned around so fast to face him, it almost knocked them both off balance. His face was in her hands right before her lips crashed against his. Her kiss was needy and rough – just the way he wanted it.

"I … thought we were … cuddling tonight" he said when he could get his lips free from hers.

"Later" she breathed, gasping for another breath as his hands traveled to her back, then down to cup her ass, lifting her up. She swung her legs around his waist and tilted her back as Stefan's lips worked against her neck. "Stefan …" she whispered, wanting him to end his torture, but also wanting him to kick it up a notch.

He began walking forward, careful to navigate any tables in his way. As he stumbled into her room, he was careful not to land on top of her too much as he fell forward on her bed. Elena closed her eyes as he continued to kiss her neck and then move over to the other side. She reached her shaky hands up and began to unbutton his shirt, pushing it off of his shoulders. She was so preoccupied with his perfectly sculpted abs that she didn't even realize she was staring. "Like what you see?" he asked. Elena's eyes moved quickly up to his and she turned red from being caught. Then he smiled and reached down to kiss her lips as her fingers trailed down his chest.

It had been so rushed moments earlier and now, they had settled back down into a nice leisurely pace, simply enjoying light caresses and slow kisses. That's what she loved about them. "I'd love to see more" she whispered, so innocently that he was highly turned on by her comment. Before she knew it, he was slowly moving off of her and off of the bed. She sat up on her elbows, quite confused. When she cocked her eyebrow at him, he just smiled.

"Did you know that I used to be a stripper?" he asked, bending over slightly and grabbing his shoe. He tossed it off to the side.

Elena smiled with excitement, though she didn't believe him. "You're such a liar" she told him, though she fully intended to enjoy the show that he was sure to put on.

"I could have been one" he said, kicking off his other shoe and watching as he flew against her wall. He loved the way her eyes were on him and he wasn't one bit shy. The belt came off next as he fumbled with it briefly before doing this sexy little dance with it.

Elena had to cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing too hard. "You are too much, Salvatore" she told him, genuinely smiling at him and his ridiculous strip tease he was giving her. It was amazing, how he could make her this happy without even trying that hard.

"Am I?" he asked seductively, unbuttoning his pants and doing another little uncoordinated dance to shimmy them off. He kicked those across the room too. "I need music" he insisted, looking at her expectantly. Elena reached over to her nightstand, grabbed a remote, and turned her stereo on to a song she really didn't know. Neither did he, but he kept on dancing anyway, right up to her.

"Oh my God Stefan" she said, now embarrassed for him. He pulled her up off of the bed, wrapping an arm around her and used his other hand to hold hers as he began dancing with her. She had no idea what kind of dance they were doing, and it made her laugh even more that he was in just his underwear. "You are crazy" she told him as he spun them around.

He stopped and leaned down to kiss her hard, passionately, and until she was out of breath. "Crazy about you" he corrected. He gave her a genuine smile that she couldn't help but return. "Not crazy about all the clothes you're still wearing though" he said, wrapping his fingers around the hem of her shirt.

Elena gave him one of those grins that Stefan had only seen a handful of times. She leaned in so her lips were barely touching his ear. "Then do something about it" she whispered.

And it was all over for Stefan. It was a challenge, and he loved challenges. "Oh, I will" he whispered back.

Elena shrieked when her feet suddenly came off of the ground and her back was against the bed seconds after that. Her shirt was the first to go, and she could have cared less where it ended up. Her pajama bottoms were off quite quickly after that. He smiled as he looked down at her, moving over the top of her, slowly leaving a trail of kisses as he did. She sighed, watching him.

When he was finally staring into her eyes, he laced his fingers in hers, bringing their hands above her head. He laid his body completely against hers, smiling at how her eyes lit up with so much want. "So I don't get to touch you?" she asked, smirking at him before eyeing their hands.

Stefan grinned, kissing her forehead, her nose, her lips, and her chin. He moved down her jaw, her neck, and towards her ear. "Not yet" he replied, trailing his lips down her collarbone, then her shoulder. He moved both of her hands into one of his, letting his free hand rest against her waist. She shuddered slightly, because that's how worked up her body was already. "Do you know how many times I used to think about being with you like this?" he asked, burying his face into her neck and kissing her again.

Her breathing was hitched slightly now as his words repeated in her head. "Tell me" she said as calmly as she could.

Stefan smiled against her neck, feeling his chest move every time hers did. "I'd come home at night" he began, tracing his fingers along her side. "After I'd been thinking about you all day. And I'd be lying there in bed, all alone, thinking that if you were there with me, my nights would be pretty damn amazing" he told her in that sexy storytelling voice that he had. "And I was right" he whispered. Elena closed her eyes when she felt his hand run down her thigh. "Did you ever think about me like that? When we first met?" he asked her.

Elena nodded, unable to say actual words to him. Sure, she had thoughts like that when she had to come home by herself. Because Gregory wasn't going to take care of any of her needs.

"Good" he whispered, slowly running his thumb over the waistband of her underwear and pulling down. Her hands tensed in his hand, and legs tangled themselves with his. "Really. Good" he whispered.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena giggled as she leaned back in Stefan's arms, enjoying the feel of his skin against hers. He was playing with her hands and kissing her every now and then. It was nearly 10:00 PM. Way past her bedtime, but she didn't care. She was too busy grinning like an idiot to care. "That was really, really wonderful" she said, looking up at him.

Stefan smiled and kissed the top of her head. "We are pretty amazing together, aren't we?" he asked, running his foot over hers.

They were silent for a moment, when she looked up at him again. "You looked disappointed when I told Bonnie I was going back to Virginia for Thanksgiving" she mentioned.

He looked down at her. "You saw that?" he asked. He thought he had done a pretty good job of hiding it.

"I always go back home for the holidays" she told him. "To see my aunt and my brother. I really miss them" she said.

He gave her hands a reassuring squeeze. "I know you need to go back home. I guess I just don't know if I can be away from you for a whole week" he said.

Elena brought his hand up and kissed it. "Maybe you can come with me" she said without thinking about the meaning of her invitation too much. "I know you have your mom and Damon and Bonnie though" she added.

"Damon and Bonnie are going away this year. Someplace warm" Stefan mentioned. "And I could have dinner with my mom before I left" he added. Then he looked at her curiously. "Does your family even know about me?" he asked.

Elena sighed. "My aunt knows I broke up with Gregory" she answered. "Can't say she was too sad about it" she added.

Stefan smiled. "She and I will get along just fine" he told her.

Elena smiled. "Yeah, she'll love you" Elena said. "I told her a little about you. That I work with you. I kind of left out the part about how crazy I am about you."

"Why?" he asked. "That's the best part" he informed her, smiling.

Elena laughed. "Yeah, I suppose. But my aunt was really excited about me being single. She wants me to focus on, well, me, for a little bit." That's why she had failed to mention she was seeing Stefan.

"That's understandable" Stefan told her, kissing the side of her face slowly and gently. "She just needs to know that I want to focus on you too" he added.

Her heart nearly melted, and she felt pretty damn secure with him after hearing that. "Maybe you should tell her that" she said.

"Maybe I will" he told her, kissing her lips slowly. "We should get some sleep" he added. Elena nodded her head in agreement. He reached over and shut the light off, then turned on his side and brought her closer. "Goodnight, Elena" he said softly.

Elena smiled and closed her eyes. "Night, Stefan" she whispered.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Damon threw a stack of papers in front of Stefan in the conference room. Stefan gave them a onceover and looked back up at Damon. "Yeah, and?" he asked, somewhat confused.

"Stefan, that's 12%" he stated. Stefan nodded. He knew what it said. "Elena has been here for two weeks, and we have seen a 12% increase in finances" he continued. "We haven't seen that large of an increase in, oh I don't know, never!" he said.

Stefan smiled proudly. "I told you she was good" Stefan said. "She'll have us up over 20% by the New Year" he added.

"She's truly talented" Damon agreed, quite happy with Elena's work. "Don't do anything to screw this up for us" he told his brother.

Stefan scoffed. "Elena and I are quite happy, thank you very much" he informed his brother.

"Yeah, so were you and Katherine" Damon pointed out.

Stefan groaned. "Are you really going to bring her up?" Stefan asked. "You know Elena and I are dating. I told you as much" Stefan reminded.

"Yeah, but you never really got over Katherine" Damon stated.

"I'm over her" Stefan said defensively, standing up.

Damon just stared at his brother, not believing him. "What if Katherine was to walk in here, and say …"

"Hello, Boys" Katherine said, smirking as she stood in the doorway of the conference room. Her hand was on her hip as she looked at them both with amusement. "Miss me?" she asked.

**A/N: Hehe. Love her!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I changed the ending because I was being picky. But I like that I changed it.**

**Please let me know what you think!**

Both Damon and Stefan just stared at Katherine like they didn't know how to answer. She was as gorgeous as ever with her long chocolate curly hair, deep brown eyes, and long legs that were partially hidden by her brown knee-high boots. There was never any question about whether or not Katherine was attractive. Her complexion was lighter than Elena's, and she was taller than Elena too. Both women were gorgeous, but Katherine had that extra little sparkle to her, which she made sure to carry with her everywhere she went.

It was Damon who made the first move, shaking off his surprised look and stepping towards her. "Of course I've missed you" Damon smiled, reaching his arms out for her. Katherine grinned, clearly happy that he was happy to see her. He had called her, after all. Katherine gave Damon her signature kiss, right on his lips before allowing him to pull her into an embrace. "You got my message?" he asked.

Stefan perked up a bit upon hearing his brother's question. Katherine stepped back from Damon, and wiped off some of her lipstick from his lips. "I did" she confirmed. "And I'm so glad you called. I've got something I want to discuss with you boys" she said, turning her eyes on Stefan. "Are you going to say hello, of have you become shy all of a sudden?" she asked, smirking at him but making no move to go to him.

Stefan finally smiled, pushing past his own surprise. "How could I not say hello to you?" he asked, moving to her and wrapping her in his arms. He avoided letting her have any opportunity to kiss him, because she would take full advantage of it. "Really good to see you, Katherine" he told her.

"God I've missed you" she whispered.

Stefan gave her one last squeeze before pulling away from her. "So, my brother called you huh?" Stefan asked, shooting a questioning glance towards Damon.

"Don't be jealous" she purred, running her hand down the front of Stefan's suit. She admired how handsome he looked. "I've sent Bonnie a text and she hasn't replied yet" Katherine added, turning towards Damon for an explanation. "I hope she doesn't think I will wait on her all day" she added with a snarky tone. How Bonnie and Katherine had ever become friends was beyond Stefan's comprehension. Katherine was rude, abrupt and demanding. Bonnie was kind, patient and soft-spoken.

"She's teaching a dance class until noon" Damon informed her.

Katherine smiled suddenly. "That means I have three hours to spend with you two" she said. "You can take me to breakfast" she informed.

Damon hesitated though. "As much as I would love to spend the morning with you, I have a meeting in Everett that I must attend here shortly" he stated.

Katherine pouted. "Fine. Then it will just be Stefan and me. I need to talk finances anyway" she informed. Stefan looked to Damon, who simply shrugged. "Stefan?" she asked, holding up her hand. "Are we going or what?" she demanded to know. Then she gave him a flirty smile because he knew how much she liked to be in charge.

"Yeah, we're going" he told her. When Katherine exited the room, Stefan stopped and looked back at Damon. "Tell Elena I went to a meeting with an old friend" he told his brother. Elena didn't have to know who it was just yet.

"Okay" Damon said, knowing his brother was going into dangerous territory. Damon had learned long ago that you never, ever keep something from the girl you are with.

Stefan nodded his thanks before disappearing out the door to find Katherine. He hadn't needed to look far. She was flirting with one of the interns. Young guy about 20. "You ready?" Stefan asked.

Katherine gave the young kid one last smile before sauntering her way back over to Stefan and linking her arm through his so she could be closer to him. "Don't be jealous" she giggled, thinking that he was incredibly jealous. Which he should have been. Everyone wanted her and she knew it. "We were just talking."

Stefan laughed. "I'm just a busy man, is all" Stefan informed her as they passed by his office. Elena wasn't in there and he figured she still must have been in on her conference call. When they passed by Betty, she gave them both a dirty look and Stefan felt guilty.

Katherine waved and smiled at Betty as they passed. "That old bat never did like me" she said, moving closer to Stefan.

He opened the door for her and resumed with his place next to her as they walked. "Maybe that's because you broke my heart not too long ago" he reminded her lightheartedly.

Katherine sighed as she stopped. "I had to move to New York Stefan. You knew that" she told him.

Stefan nodded. He did know that. "I know" he said, smiling softly at her. "And look at you know. You practically control the fashion scene there" he said, grabbing her hand and holding it. "I'm really proud of you, Katherine" he added.

Katherine smiled giddily. She loved attention from Stefan because it was so different from the other men chasing her around. "I do control the fashion scene in New York, don't I?" she said, smiling to herself at just the thought of it.

They began walking again and it didn't take long for her to spot a ritzy little restaurant down the street. Once they had sat down and placed their drink orders, she pulled out a folded up document and slid it across the table to Stefan. "What's this?" Stefan asked.

"Remember how I said I wanted to talk finances?" she asked. Stefan nodded. "I want to invest in your company" she stated. "A silent partner, so to speak" she added. Then she sat back and smiled while she admired Stefan concentrating on her document.

When he was done, he looked up at her. "Why do you want to invest in a coffee company?" he asked. Let alone, a failing one.

Katherine shrugged. "Why not?" she asked. "I have the money and I'm bored" she added, holding her perfectly manicured fingers out in front of her to examine. "Oh, and Bonnie also might have mentioned that you guys were having some financial difficulties, so, I figured I could help out" she added.

"The offer is amazing, Katherine" he told her. "But, I don't think it would be a very smart idea for you to invest right now" he added sliding her document back to her. Of course he had faith in Elena, but she was only human and if the company took a sudden dive, that was a lot of money for Katherine to lose. "I'd hate to see you lose that much money" he told her.

Katherine just smiled. "I'm actually a little offended that you didn't call me in the beginning when you were having financial troubles" she told him.

Stefan almost had called her, too. After her business started to take off. But his pride got in the way of asking for help. "I didn't want to get you involved. I wanted to try and save my company on my own" he explained.

Katherine smiled. "Sometimes I think you and I are more alike than we know" she told him.

"I think so too" Stefan agreed.

"Well, it took you a while, but it looks like things are turning up for you now" Katherine pointed out. "Your percentage has been climbing steadily the past few weeks" she told him. She had checked in on Stefan and the company from time to time.

Stefan smiled. "That's not my doing" he told her. She cocked her head curiously. "You ever heard of Gregory's Coffee?" he asked.

"Yes. I love their coffee. Especially their roasted vanilla and caramel blend" she told him, nearly craving it just by mentioning it. He glared at her and she shrugged innocently. "I heard that CFO over there was insane as far as taking the company up the top goes" she added. Yes, she had checked out Stefan and Damon's biggest rival too. Stefan sat back and smiled. "What?" Katherine asked.

"Gregory's CFO is now our CFO" he informed. Katherine's jaw practically dropped onto the table. "She works with me now. That's why our company has been improving" he added.

"You're shitting me" Katherine said. Stefan shook his head no as he took a sip of his coffee. "You seduced her" Katherine accused. Stefan was pretty sure he had blushed, which was something he didn't do often. But Katherine had a way of making him do that.

"Maybe a little" Stefan told her. "But there were some other complicating factors that were involved" he added.

Katherine stirred her drink, keeping her eyes on him the whole time. "So are two an item now or what?" she asked.

"We are dating, yes" Stefan informed her. He was smiling like an idiot too.

"Ugh, you look happy" she said with a disgusted tone. He just rolled his eyes at her because it was so her to say something like that. "You know I came back here with every intention of sleeping with you, right?" she asked.

Stefan nodded. "I figured as much" he said, leaning back in his seat. "I am pretty irresistible" he reminded her with a knowing smile.

He felt the tip of her high heel brushing against his leg under the table. "She wouldn't mind sharing, would she?" Katherine asked playfully.

Stefan shook his head yes. "Elena would mind" he informed her. "And come on. You're a real catch. I'm sure any guy would be happy to sleep with you" he said, giving her a compliment.

And it was a compliment for her, knowing that every guy out there wanted to get her into bed. "Oh, but you're such a giving lover in bed" she whined. Again, he freaking blushed. "Elena, is it? She wouldn't have to know …" Katherine said, trying to entice him.

He hated to admit it, but had he not been totally and completely with Elena, he would have given in to Katherine's advances, even if it meant getting his heart broken all over again. "But I would know" Stefan told her. "I wouldn't do that to Elena." She had already been cheated on once. And Elena had been a mess until he had shown her what a real relationship was like.

Katherine pouted her soft pink lips. "Well you're no fun" she told him, sitting back and finishing off her drink. "But I still want to invest in your company" she informed him.

Stefan sighed. "I'll have to run it by Elena" he said.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "You are so whipped" she told him.

Stefan smiled. "I totally and completely am. And I don't care" he told her. He was really happy with Elena.

Again, Katherine groaned. "Let's just order breakfast" she told him. "Since we won't be going back to my hotel" she added.

"I truly have missed you" he said dryly, cracking a smile as he did. He picked up his own menu and avoided her scheming eyes. He hoped that he had gotten the point across that he wasn't interested in her anymore. Though, sometimes Katherine had to be told a few times before it actually sank in.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

By the time Stefan had finished breakfast with Katherine and hashed out all of the details regarding her investment, he was thrilled to be back in the building and was ready to tell Elena about the potential business deal.

"Hey" Stefan said, walking inside their office and shutting the door. "I brought you a muffin" he said, bending over to talk into her ear. He set the bag in front of her and kissed the side of her head. "I have something to talk with you about" he added.

"Not interested" Elena said with a bit of bite in her tone.

Stefan smiled as he moved even closer to her. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed" he said, teasing her. "Which is odd because you were pretty happy in the shower this morning" he reminded her, leaning in to kiss her cheek. Elena moved her head though so he missed her cheek entirely. "Hey" he said, grabbing her arm and not liking her mood one bit.

"Don't touch me" she told him, moving her chair back and standing up.

"What did I do now?" he asked defensively.

"I can smell her on you" Elena said bitterly, looking out the window so she didn't have to look at him.

Stefan stared blankly at her for a moment before it clicked. Somehow she knew about Katherine being in town and clearly, she wasn't happy about it. "We just had breakfast" Stefan told her calmly, because he knew the conversation could turn ugly at any moment.

"Breakfast" she muttered, running her hand through her hair. "So if Gregory called me up and wanted to have breakfast, you'd be okay with that?" she asked, trying to prove her point.

Stefan started to say something to argue against her point, but he realized it was no use. He would have been angry if Gregory was having anything with her. "Okay" he said calmly. "Point taken. But Katherine and I are friends" he reminded Elena.

That didn't seem to sit well with Elena either. "You've slept with her!" Elena reminded him. "Were you even going to tell me?" she asked, quite upset with him.

"Of course I was" Stefan replied. "It was more of a business meeting anyway. Which is what I wanted to talk to you about before we started fighting" Stefan informed her. "Katherine wants to invest in our company."

Stefan watched Elena's face turn dangerously red. "You were doing financial business without me?" Elena asked slowly, though she was ready to explode at any moment. Because she was in the process of saving a company and anyone making any sort of financial considerations without her was not okay.

Stefan looked at her nervously. "You seem more mad that I went to a business meeting without you than the fact that I had breakfast with an ex" he pointed out carefully. He waited for her to flip out on him, and he would have much rather seen that than her eyes turn glossy with tears that were threatening to spill. "Elena" he said, feeling like a complete idiot. He reached for her, because he couldn't stand the idea of her crying and him being responsible for it.

"Don't" Elena said, shrugging his hand off of her. And her anger was back just as fast as it had left. Clearly she wasn't going to cry in front of him over this. She pushed past him and grabbed her laptop before storming out of the office. She made a right and he knew she was going to continue her work in another office to get away from him.

He wasn't sure how he could have been that stupid. He should have told Katherine no to breakfast and just waited to talk about the investment when Elena was available. Because what he had done had upset Elena, even if he hadn't meant anything by it. Maybe she did have the right to be insecure because of her previous relationship. And maybe he just had to wait her out until she was calm enough to talk about how upset she was.

Stefan sat down at his desk and looked at the clock. He had a long time until it was time to go home, so he figured he had better get some work done in hopes that Elena would come and find him eventually.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

But she never did. Stefan looked up at the clock and realized they were two hours past the end of their work day. He had been so busy that he hadn't even realized how fast the time had slipped on by. He walked out of his office in search of Elena. Maybe she had gone home with everyone else.

Or, maybe she was fast asleep in an office chair, with her head laying down on the desk. As uncomfortable as that position must have been, Stefan thought she looked rather peaceful. "Elena" he said, touching her shoulder. Elena's head flew up and it took her a moment to realize where she was and who was with her. Stefan smiled at her as he pulled a sticky note off of her forehead. "It's time to go home" he said softly, hoping they were done fighting. Because it was killing him knowing that they weren't on good terms. He just wanted to hold her and kiss her again.

She didn't say anything, but he could tell from her eyes that she was still upset with him. Hurt more than anything probably. He went to move a piece of hair behind her ear, but she pulled away from him and stood up. He handed her her jacket which she took briskly and put on. Then, she followed him out of the small office. He didn't say anything and neither did she.

The building was fairly dark, so she made sure to stay within a few paces of him. As soon as he opened the door, the cold air hit them both. Then, she ran smack dab into the back of him when he stopped suddenly. "Uh oh" he said, staring out ahead.

Elena peered around him and saw what he was looking at. Snow. And a lot of it. Stefan took a few more steps out into the parking lot and confirmed what he had suspected. It was too deep to be driving in his or her vehicle.

Elena pushed past him though as she trudged through the snow. Because she was determined to go home and get away from him. "You can't drive in this!" Stefan called out after her. She ignored him though as she approached her car. She unlocked it and got in, starting it quickly. Stefan watched as she tried to drive forward, only for her car to get stuck and the tires to spin. She gave up after a few minutes, clearly frustrated. Clearly the universe was punishing her. She turned her car off, got out, and looked around her, debating on whether or not she could walk home or to a hotel at least.

But the snow was getting deeper and it was incredibly cold out. Nothing around her looked open, either. She heard Stefan's footsteps coming her way. Stefan's hands were on her shoulders as soon as he reached her. "Go back inside. I'm going to grab some things out of my car" he instructed.

Elena reluctantly did as he had said, trudging back through the snow and into the building. She stood just inside the door so she could still see him. When he came walking back, she noticed he was carrying an armful of things.

He started walking further into the building and Elena was pretty sure he was heading for the conference room. Slowly, she followed him.

Stefan already had a blanket spread out on the floor and a sweatshirt next to it. "Power might go out" he said, setting a flashlight on the table. He unfolded another blanket, stripped his jacket off, and got on the floor, hoping to get some sleep.

Elena sat down in a chair. "You don't really plan on spending the night here, do you?" Elena asked. Because she didn't.

"Doesn't look like we have another choice" he told her. And then the lights flickered two times before going out. "And there goes the power" he said. "It's going to get awfully cold tonight, so you might want to think about not being mad at me for the night and coming over here" he told her. Elena made no effort to move though. Stefan groaned. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" he told her. "I really can't stand it when you don't talk to me" he said.

Elena crossed her arms, thinking about how he shouldn't have been such an idiot, but also thinking, she was acting selfishly too. "You talked so highly of her" Elena said quietly. Then she was silent. It might have been different if Stefan hated Katherine. But he didn't.

Stefan sat with her silence for a moment before getting up and walking over to her. He knelt down in front of her chair and placed his hand on the side of her face. He looked straight into her eyes and waited until she was looking into his as well. "I'm with you" he told her. "I'm sorry that me having breakfast with Katherine upset you so much. It wasn't my intention. It was a lapse of judgment on my part. I'm really, really sorry" he told her.

And Elena knew that. She could tell he was being sincere. She sighed, willing herself not to cry. Because the last thing she wanted to do was fight with him. "You're allowed to see anyone you want to" Elena told him. "I … I got jealous. Because I really like you" she said. "And when your boyfriend's supermodel ex-girlfriend comes to town, it messes with your thinking" she added.

Stefan smiled. "She's not a supermodel" he corrected. "And it's okay to be jealous" he told her. "I get jealous all the time when I'm with you" he admitted.

Elena looked at him somewhat surprised. "You do?" she asked. She had never picked up on it.

He nodded his head. "When I see you talking with another guy when we're out, I get a little jealous" he said softly. "But then I remind myself that it doesn't mean anything."

"I wish I was that confident about it" Elena sighed. Though, no one else brought up this jealousy for her. It was just Katherine.

"Those other guys can look all they want" Stefan said quietly before brushing his lips against hers. His hands dropped down to unbutton her jacket before slipping underneath it and her blouse and holding her waist. His thumbs made slow circles against her skin. "But I know they have no chance in hell" he whispered as he pulled against her bottom lip with his teeth.

Elena took a small breath, trying to ignore the fact that her body wanted him more than anything right now. "And how do you know that?" she whispered back.

This excited Stefan incredibly because he liked that she posed it as a challenge. And he liked challenges. "Because" he smiled, leaning in closer to her. "No one else knows what you like" he informed her, capturing her lips in a slow, passionate kiss. Yes, she liked when he kissed her like that. He broke the kiss off slowly, and he could tell she wasn't happy about it. He moved even closer to her, resting the side of his head against hers so he could whisper in her ear. "I know where you like to be touched" he said, letting his fingers lightly trace under her bra. Her breath caught in her throat and Stefan smiled even more. "I know just what to say at just the right time" he whispered, earning himself a soft moan of appreciation as his fingers continued to touch her. "You feel so good" he whispered, adding a sexy growl for emphasis.

"Oh God" Elena said, feeling herself teetering on that edge of wanting to give in, and wanting to say no.

"I want you naked. Right here. Right now" he whispered against her ear, moving his hands around to her back and massaging her skin. He kissed her ear, leaving a trail of hot breath against her skin as he worked his way down her neck, sometimes kissing her lightly, sometimes nibbling on her skin. He leaned back, sitting down and taking her with him, sliding her off of her chair to straddle his lap. Stefan pushed her jacket off gently before grabbing her face and kissing her passionately.

Elena was panting with ragged breaths when he let go of her. And when his hands had begun to work themselves under her shirt once again, she stopped him. "I can't, Stefan" she told him.

His hands lingered where they had stopped. "Why not?" he asked, trying to kiss her again.

She turned her face and his lips landed on her cheek. "Because" she said, feeling his hands start to wander again. "I don't want you thinking that every time we fight, you can fix things with sex" she said, trying really hard to focus on her words and not his hands under her shirt.

"Isn't the whole point of fighting to have make-up sex later on?" he asked, grinning like a teenage boy who was about to score.

"No, Stefan" she said seriously. "I want us to be able to talk to each other" she told him.

Stefan sighed. "I want that too" he told her. "And we'll work on that" he assured her. "But right now … we're snowed in. Alone … at work" he said, his voice fully intending to entice her once again. "How often does this happen?" he asked.

Elena just smiled, because honestly, she was completely screwed when it came to being with him. She lacked self-control. She let him win no matter what. "Never" she agreed.

Stefan leaned in some and kissed her. "So why don't we make the most of it?" he asked.

Elena wrapped her arms around his neck, inviting him in for another kiss. She sighed when his lips left hers and he slowly began kissing her jaw. All she could do was tip her head back slightly so that he could continue. "You don't play fair" she breathed out, closing her eyes.

Stefan smiled as he continued kissing her and caressing her skin. "I don't want rules when it comes to you" he told her.

Elena laughed lightly as she tipped her head back up and ran her hands over his shoulders. "What do you want then?" she asked.

Stefan moved a piece of hair behind her ear and smiled as he looked into her eyes. "Just you" he told her. She looked at him adoringly, thinking that it was stupid to have gotten jealous earlier. He was so into her that it was almost unreal. But it was real. "So, did you still want to talk about things, or did you want to see what else I had in store for tonight?" he asked.

Elena smiled at him, because he knew what her answer would be. "And what if I were to say I wanted to talk all night?" she asked, testing the waters just slightly.

Stefan laughed. "I would probably cry" he said, knowing that his body was already expecting sex. "But I would respect your decision while I was crying" he added.

Elena couldn't help but smile even more as she leaned in and kissed him, knocking him backwards. "I wouldn't want you to cry" she whispered, giving him a devilish smirk.

"Good" Stefan said, running his hands through her hair. Slowly, she lowered her head and kissed him slowly, simply enjoying being so close to him.

**A/N: I just love Katherine. No filter. I want a friend like her! And I am glad that Stefan and Elena were able to … work things out. Stefan's idea of working things out, anyway ;) **


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN CHANGED TO AN M RATING! Based on some little twitter conversations, I went a little further with the sexy time than I normally do.**

**If you do not feel comfortable reading this, then don't. It is all Stefan and Elena, and you won't miss out on anything storyline wise. The next update will resume with actual storyline and a T rating.**

**For those of you that do read it, I am warning you right now, I am horrible at this stuff. But you wanted it, so I tried :D Enjoy it if you can.**

Somehow, he had managed to get them wrapped up in the blankets on the floor, though it was no easy feat. Not when Elena was wrapped around him, running her hands through his hair and kissing him like her life depended on it. But he had managed, wanting them to stay warm and be as comfortable as possible with what little they had stranded in the Salvatore Building.

Stefan pressed his body against hers, looking deep into her eyes as he held her hands up by her head, loving the way her body was stretched out below him. It only seemed to intensify what she felt every time he moved. Elena closed her eyes, feeling that moment of pleasure start to take over her. She squeezed her hands tight in his, arching her body up into his just a little more. Stefan never took his eyes off of her, wanting to see exactly what he was making her feel. A smile broke out on her face and her feet ran themselves over his legs as she slowly came down from where he had taken her. Her breathing had increased significantly, and although they weren't having wild, off the wall sex, he was pretty sure she was appreciating their time together all the same. He had wanted to make love to her slowly, letting the passion build. It was romantic and fit their current situation, being stuck while it continued to be a snowy blizzard outside.

"Thank you Stefan" she breathed out, turning her head to the side and laughing lightly at herself. Although she hadn't been screaming like a pleasure-stricken fool, she had fallen apart under him, and he was watching every moment of it. She wasn't embarrassed with herself, just in disbelief that he could do that to her with so little effort.

Stefan smiled, leaning his face down towards her ear and kissing it. "I love watching you while I make love to you" he whispered, letting go of her hands and running his down her arms. "You're so beautiful" he said, sucking on her ear lightly.

Elena's already flushed face turned even more red. "The things you can make me feel …" she smiled, wrapping her hands around his back. "I'm a lucky, lucky girl" she added.

"Mmm, yes you are" he said huskily, running his hands down her sides until he reached the backs of her thighs. "Are you ready for more?" he asked, his hot breath hitting her ear and making her squirm.

And just as fast as her breathing had gotten under control, it had gone ragged again as she felt him lightly caress her thighs. "Yes" she whimpered, running her hands over his back. Stefan smiled, dragging his lips along her jaw and finally finding her lips.

He moved against her again, causing her to dig her nails slightly into his back, not wanting to hurt him, but also not being able to control herself either. Being with Stefan was incredible. She felt things that Gregory only had wished he could make her feel. "Stefan" she said, closing her eyes tight.

"Shit, Elena" he said, panting against her ear as he picked up his pace just a bit more. Stefan knew that sex always felt good for him, but he was pretty sure it felt even more amazing when he really cared about the girl he was with, and when she felt the same way about him. And then it hit him suddenly. His purpose for having sex with Elena wasn't just about the pleasure. It was a way to feel connected to her and a way to feel closer to her. The minutes ticked by and the little noises she made only excited him more.

Her nails dug into his back once more and her legs wrapped themselves around his. "Please Stefan" she whimpered, begging him to let her have her release because she was pretty sure she was going to die if he didn't. He shifted his hips just slightly and it was over for her. Her cries echoed throughout the conference room as the pleasure took over her body.

She felt Stefan collapse on top of her, burying his face in her shoulder to keep himself from letting out a string of curse words to express just how incredibly amazing he was feeling at the moment. "God damnit Elena" he said finally, still breathing hard against her.

Elena smiled and lightly ran her fingers through his messy hair. "Good for you too?" she asked.

Stefan popped his head up and gave her an exhausted, lopsided smile. "Better than good. Fan-freaking-tastic" he told her. Elena laughed and ran her finger over his lips lazily. Stefan kissed her finger softly. "I think we could have something pretty amazing, Elena" he told her with so much honesty behind his words, that it completely changed the lazy, satisfied energy in the room.

And she was okay with that. She stilled her finger and looked up at him with so much trust and happiness in her eyes that it made him want to grab her and kiss her senseless. "I think we already do" she said quietly. Then, another big smile broke out across her face, only getting bigger as he smiled too and leaned down to kiss her.

A cell phone rang out and Elena knew right away that it was Stefan's. "Are you going to get that?" she asked against his ever so eager lips.

"It's not you, so I don't care right now" he informed her, giving her another heartwarming smile that made her heart melt.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena rolled over on top of Stefan an hour later, not being able to sleep. His eyes were opened and his hands greeted her with excitement as they roamed her body. They rested on her lower back though. Elena gave him a flirty smile and bit down on her bottom lip. "What are you thinking about?" Stefan asked.

Elena's eyes brightened as her teeth let go of her lip instantly. "Are you tired?" she asked.

Stefan turned his head slightly and gave her a curious look. "Not really" he told her. "Why?" he asked. "Are you thinking dirty thoughts about me?" he asked, only half joking. Because if she really was, his life would be amazing.

"I want to go outside and enjoy the snow while it is here" she smiled, sounding like such an innocent girl right there in that moment. Though, there was nothing innocent about her an hour ago he mentally reminded himself. She sat up some and so did he. The blanket fell off of her and he took a moment to appreciate how beautiful she was.

"Let's go outside" he told her, knowing he was making the right decision to join her because her whole face lit up. He loved doing that to her.

Elena leaned in and kissed him briefly, thanking him. When she pulled away from him just slightly, she smiled. "And yes, I am thinking dirty thoughts about you" she whispered seductively. And it was the hottest thing he had ever heard.

She stood then, walking over to pick up her scattered clothes. She started dressing herself and Stefan watched her the whole time. "You realize, because I am a guy, you can't say things like that to me and not follow through with an example, right?" he asked her, dead serious.

Elena smiled as she slid her boots on. Then she grabbed for his pile of clothes and tossed them to him before putting her jacket on. "I'd much rather prefer to keep my dirty thoughts about you to myself" she informed him.

"That is quite selfish of you, Miss Gilbert" he told her, dressing quickly and grabbing his own jacket. He put it on and then grabbed Elena's hand, pulling her to him. "Tell me just one?" he asked, holding her close and kissing her lips.

She slipped out of his arms though and backed away. "Umm no" she told him playfully. Her eyes had come alive all of a sudden and Stefan decided that he liked this side of Elena too.

"You are such a little tease" he told her, reaching out for her, but she quickly moved out of his reach again.

"If you can catch me, I'll tell you one" she challenged before turning around and running out of the conference room. He took off after her, hearing her laugh the entire time she ran down the hall in her boots.

By the time he reached the main door, she was already outside, facing him with a snowball in her hands. He just grinned as he slowly approached her. "Go ahead, throw it" he encouraged.

So she did, and it hit him in his leg. She turned around and took off running across the parking lot as best as she could with the snow as deep as it was. "No!" she laughed, feeling his arms wrap around her and her feet come off of the ground.

"I caught you. You owe me one dirty thought" he reminded her, having no intention of letting her go until she told him. He shifted her in his arms so she was facing him. She had the biggest smile on her face.

"Okay, okay" she said, giving in. Then, ever so slowly, she leaned in towards him so she could whisper in his ear.

Stefan's eyes went wide as her words filtered through his ear. "Seriously?" he asked, adjusting her in his arms once again so he could look at her face to see if she was in fact serious.

Elena shrugged. "I've never, you know, done it … outside, in the snow" she told him, feeling her cheeks flush slightly from the thought of it.

Come to think of it, Stefan realized he hadn't either. "It's cold" he reminded her. The temperature had to be just below freezing.

Elena wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. "Then I guess we'll just have to keep each other warm" she said. And that was all the convincing he needed as he placed his hand behind her head and brought her closer to kiss her. She felt him start to walk and wondered where they were going. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"The other side of the building" he informed her. "There are cameras in the front. I really don't think you want Damon seeing us, do you?" he asked.

"Definitely not" Elena told him, smiling. "I can walk" she said.

"I've got you" he told her, kissing her slowly as he walked. "I'd hate for these pretty little boots of yours to get all wet" he added.

Elena rolled her eyes, figuring he just had to be all manly at the moment. Which she was completely fine with. It was pretty sexy that he could carry her around like he was doing. When they had reached the backside of the building, Elena looked around at how beautifully the snow had blanketed the area. There were no lights on them, but the moon gave them just enough light to see each other. Stefan stopped and set her on her feet before helping her lay down. It took a few moments for her to realize just how cold it was under her, but the thought of Stefan warming her from the top while it was cold underneath her was exciting. She made a snow angel, waiting for him to join her.

When he was on top of her and brushing hair out of her face, he simply smiled down at her. She looked beautiful with snowflakes in her hair. "You sure about this?" he asked, already beginning to feel cold himself.

Elena bit her bottom lip and nodded. "I'm sure" she told him, grabbing onto his jacket and pulling him closer on top of her. Elena kissed him hard and he had no choice but to reciprocate.

"You drive me absolutely crazy, Elena" he said, reaching under her jacket to get her pants undone. It was going to be quick and needy, because he already couldn't feel his hands.

Elena gasped as soon as the cold air and his hands had hit her skin. "Oh God Stefan. You're hands are freezing" she said, barely able to sit still under him.

"Here" he said, unbuttoning his jacket so she could get her hands in and keep them warm. She was half laughing, half shivering as she moved her hands inside of his jacket, wrapping them around him and pulling him close. With cold shaky hands, he got his pants undone too, wondering at what point they had completely lost their minds. Still though, she seemed just as excited as he was.

When he entered her without warning, he kissed her hard, hoping to silence her surprise just in case there was anyone outside, taking a walk in the falling snow. He remained still and slowly ended the kiss. He ran his hand over her face and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry" he said.

Elena smiled and shook her head. "I … like a little but of surprise every now and then" she told him, moving her hips under his to hint at the fact that she wanted him to move. The snow was already soaking through her jacket and she needed a distraction from it. He didn't move though. Rather, he leaned down again and kissed her. "Stefan" she groaned against his lips.

Stefan tilted his hips just slightly, having the advantage of being on top of her. Elena gasped. The combination of the cold beneath her and Stefan moving inside of her was sure to produce intense pleasure if he would ever do what she wanted him to do. "Something you want?" he asked, pressing down against her completely.

Elena hissed slightly, unable to take his teasing any longer. "Please Stefan, move" she begged.

He looked down into her eyes adoringly, thinking she was absolutely beautiful when she was needy. "Let's make this quick" he told her in a seductive voice that nearly made her explode right then in there. "It's cold as fuck out here" he reminded, pulling his hips out and then driving them forward.

It was all Elena could do not to scream out. It didn't help that she was still sensitive from their earlier session in the office. It was like they had picked up where they had left off for her, and every move he made had her muscles in a fit. "There, Stefan. Right there" she panted, closing her eyes and letting her body build up to its release. She was no longer cold and was pretty sure that she had melted the snow under her because she felt incredibly hot. "Stefan!" she yelled out, completely forgetting that she needed to be quiet. She had a death grip on his shirt as her breathing became out of control.

He moved his hips forward one last time before collapsing on top of her. He could feel the pulse in her neck against his cheek as he lay there, trying to catch his breath. It was quick and somewhat animalistic on his part, but he had gotten the job done. She had a satisfied smile on her face when he finally sat up some and looked down at her. "Well that was …" he said, looking for the right words.

"Unbelievable" she whispered, her eyes still shut. They stayed like that for almost ten minutes before he thought they should get back inside. He buttoned her pants for her and did his too before getting up and helping her up. When she stood on her own though, he legs nearly buckled. "You okay there?" he asked, grinning like a proud fool as he held onto her.

She just rolled her eyes at him. "My legs are numb from the snow, not anything you did" she said, determined to bring his ego down a notch. He didn't believe her though as he walked with her. To be honest, she was pretty light headed from what he had just done to her though.

Once they were inside, she peeled away from him and went towards the bathroom. "We can use the hand dryers to dry our clothes" she said. Stefan followed her into the women's room and they both stripped to their undergarments and spent the better half of an hour trying to dry shirts, pants, and jackets.

Elena's hair eventually dried too and he took note of how different it looked. "Is your hair naturally wavy like that?" he asked her.

Elena nodded. "I have to flatiron it every day" she told him, grabbing a chunk of it and examining the damage. It had turned wavy from the snow.

Stefan walked towards her, grabbing the piece she had grabbed and running his fingers through it. "You should leave it wavy every now and then" he said, letting his warm breath hit her lips from how close he was to her. "It looks pretty on you" he added.

Elena gave him a surprised smile, but she was happy to hear him say it. "Okay" she said, accepting his brief kiss before they went back to the conference room.

They settled back on the floor in the blankets, both still smiling like they just had mind-blowing sex an hour ago. "Should we try and sleep?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "I think that would be a good idea" she told him, beginning to feel a bit tired herself. And snuggling up next to him all night felt even more perfect since they had been so intimate with each other. "Goodnight" she said, kissing his bare chest.

Stefan ran his hand down her naked back, kissing the top of her head slowly. "Goodnight Elena" he smiled.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was about two in the morning when Elena woke up next, feeling something running down the front of her. It took her a moment to realize that it was Stefan, running his finger from her neck, all the way down just past her bellybutton. "Stefan?" she asked, turning to see him wide awake and grinning.

"I didn't mean to wake you" he whispered, kissing her kips gently. "I was just admiring you" he explained, hugging her closer and kissing her again. This time though, he meant business. His tongue found hers as he continued to kiss her as passionately as he could. He had been up for half an hour, watching her sleep so peacefully against him. As much as he loved seeing her that way, he was definitely glad she was up now having one of the best make out sessions of all time.

Elena moved over on top of him, pushing him on his back and holding onto his shoulders to steady herself as she continued to kiss him. By the time she was out of breath, so was he. "I hope you didn't wake me up for just that" she said calmly, still trying to catch her breath.

Stefan sat up, coming face to face with her. He grabbed the sides of her face and smiled. "Definitely not" he said, moving in and kissing her slowly this time. It had to be slow if he were to be able to have enough focus left to get her bra off. She was more than willing to help him though, but he wanted to be the one to fling it across the room.

He shifted them just slightly so he could rock up on his feet and pick her up. She instinctively wrapped her legs around him, having no idea where they were going but not really caring either. He was all smiles though as he rested his forehead against hers. "Round three?" she asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.

She felt herself bump into the conference table behind her and before she knew it, she was being lowered onto it. The tabletop was cool against her skin, but the thrill of what they were about do trumped it. His body covered hers on the table as his lips worked themselves against her shoulder and his hand snuck inside of her underwear. She sucked a big breath in, anticipating his next move. "Do you like this?" he asked, moving his fingers slowly against her.

Elena could barely mumble her appreciation as she ran her hands through his hair. "I've … never done this … sort of … sort of … thing" she said, struggling to get her words out. "On a … table … I mean" she added for clarification.

Stefan was happy to hear her say that, because knowing that he did things with her that no one else had made him that much more determined to make her have the time of her life. His lips moved just below her ear, nipping and kissing exactly where he knew she loved him too. "Did he ever make you feel like this?" he asked roughly against her ear, applying more pressure with his fingers as he did.

Elena let out a pleasurable cry, pulling on his hair some as she did. "God no" she gasped, not even being able to think of her last boyfriend's name by this point.

Stefan smiled against her skin, satisfied with her answer. "Good" he said, slowly removing his hand. A sound of disapproval escaped Elena, and he just chuckled. She would get what she wanted eventually. Slowly, he slid down her underwear, letting her kick them off the rest of the way. Her hands went straight to his briefs, working wildly to get them off of him. "Okay okay" he laughed, causing her to turn red with embarrassment. But in all fairness, he did this to her. Once she pushed his briefs down and he wiggled out of them, he laid back over the top of her. He made no effort to do anything but lay there and look into her eyes.

Elena reached up and ran her fingers through his hair once again. "You've got this way of looking at me that makes me feel like you really want me" she said, almost in a whisper as her hands came down to cup his face.

Stefan turned his head slightly and kissed the inside of her right hand. "I've never felt this way about anybody before" he told her honestly. He leaned his head down and placed the gentlest kiss against her lips. "I think about you all the time" he told her. "So yeah, I really want you" he whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

It was times like these where it wasn't just physical for her anymore. It was so freaking emotional that yeah, she felt a single tear run down her cheek before she could stop it. He looked at her with worry, but she shook her head, telling him the tear was nothing he had done wrong. "I'm just really, really happy when I'm with you" she whispered. "So yeah, I really want you too" she added.

And even though her back hitting the table as he moved in and out of her wasn't the most comfortable position she could have been in, the fact that he was enjoying himself made it completely worth it. Every time they were together, he had put so much thought into how she was feeling that she wondered if he ever felt as amazing as she did by the end of it. By the looks and sounds of it though, he was pretty content. She wrapped her legs around him and brought his head down to hers. "Stand up" was all she got out before his lips crashed on top of hers and she was being pulled up. She tightened her legs around him, though he had his hands under her to make sure she wasn't going anywhere. This new position had almost been a done deal for them both, though he slowed them down, determined to make what was probably their last round of sex for the night, last. "This feels amazing" she said, biting against his shoulder to keep from yelling out.

"My favorite so far" he breathed out against her cheek. She smiled as his warm breath tickled her.

It wasn't long before he had her backed up against the wall, needing to change it up just a bit. One hand went behind her back to keep her from rubbing against the wall. The other hand was pressed firmly against the wall by her head, giving him something firm to lean against as he worked himself against her. She was completely fine clinging to him herself, knowing that if she failed in any way, she would lose the contact she was so desperately craving in that moment. Elena was pretty sure if there had been someone on the other side of that wall, they would have come running over thinking someone was trying to break through it. "Stefan, hurry" she panted against his ear, feeling so close and so tired from all of their previous activities.

He moved his hand between their bodies, worked his fingers for a moment or two against her and as soon as her legs suddenly held a death grip around his waist, he was gone too. Both were mumbling out words that neither could understand, but the general consensus was that they were both feeling pretty damn good.

Elena's legs dropped from around him, unable to hold themselves there any longer. He pressed her against the wall, keeping them there for a few minutes until he was sure they could both stand on their own. "I fucking love blizzards" Stefan said, smiling with his eyes still closed.

Elena wrapped her arms around his neck a little more and hugged him close. "Me too" she whispered. "Me too."

**A/N: I still think Stefan is adorable.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I will admit, I love Stefan and Elena in this story. They are so real and just all about living in the moment. It will be interesting to see them deal with things involving more of a commitment. **

**Katherine. I adore her too. I would love to spend a day with Nina where she was in character all day. Best. Day. Ever.**

**Okay, enjoy!**

"Elena" he whispered, brushing his nose against hers. She stirred just a little, but made no move to wake up. He smiled and kissed her lips lightly. "We have to get up" he whispered.

She peeked one eye open at him and smiled. "Do we have to?" she asked. Her body was content with staying right there next to him.

Stefan nodded. "The cleaning staff will be here soon" he told her. The last thing he needed was someone walking in on them and it getting back to his brother.

They sat up slowly and she rested her head against his shoulder. "I am so tired" she told him.

"We had quite a night" he said, letting his mind wander back to what they had done – three times.

Elena blushed, though she was smiling at the memory. Never in her life had she done anything like that. "Can we make it out of here?" she asked.

Stefan ran his hand through her hair and kissed the top of her head. "They should have plowed the roads by now" he told her. She nodded her head against him, honestly too tired to move. "Come on" he tried again, whispering against her head.

Elena sighed, forcing herself to move away from him and stand up. Their clothes were hanging, dried, on the backs of chairs and it only took her a minute to get herself dressed. "I need a hot shower and a decent cup of coffee" she yawned. "Are we even opening today, with the weather like it is?" she asked.

Stefan shrugged. "Damon usually will do a later start when the roads are bad. I was thinking of coming back around noon" he told her.

Noon. Elena could do noon. That would give her time to take a nap and to shower. When Stefan had finished dressing, she grabbed his hand in hers so they could walk together. "Are you coming to my place?" Elena asked casually as they passed through the hallways. It didn't even phase her that she might want some time to herself since she spent all night with Stefan.

"I think I might" he smiled, pulling her closer to him. "I'll need to swing by my place and get a change of clothes" he added. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Starving" she answered. "Let's pick something up on the way" she told him, bracing herself as they stepped out into the cold. The snow had stopped, and the roads were plowed for the most part. Still, the city was pretty quiet for it being almost 6 AM.

Stefan wasn't half bad at getting a car out of a snowy parking lot, and Elena seemed fairly at ease while Stefan navigated the snowy and icy roads. They opted for Starbucks, as that was the only place open and not far out of their way. Elena wouldn't complain. Good coffee and a good pastry. It would hold them off until they went back to work.

Elena waited in Stefan's living area as he grabbed a new set of clothes. When he came back, she excused herself to use the bathroom. While she was washing up, she took note of the rather large bathtub behind her. Her thoughts wandered to what it would be like to be in that tub with Stefan, but she quickly forced herself back to the present. One look in the mirror though proved just how ridiculously happy she was.

Which was a strange feeling, being that happy with someone she had only just met. Then again, she was with Gregory for years and still hadn't felt as happy as she was with Stefan. So maybe time really was no indicator for happiness. Maybe it all depended on the person you were with.

When she returned to the living area, Stefan was sitting on the arm of the couch, waiting. "Ready?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "Yeah" she said, watching as he stood and wrapped his arms around her. Stefan kissed her slowly, reminding her that he was happy to be there with her too.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena prepared herself for the battle that was sure to break out when Stefan realized there would be no sex the rest of that morning. Elena fully intended on sleeping for the next four hours until she would have to get up and get ready.

But he surprised her, having crawled into bed with her and laying there quietly. "You have an alarm set?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah" Elena answered, laying there quietly next to him too.

"I just realized something" Stefan said. Elena turned her head and looked at him. "I will never be able to sit in a meeting in the conference room without thinking about what we did on that table" he told her, grinning from ear to ear. "Or that wall" he added. Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty proud of what we did in there. We would probably get some kind of reward if there was one."

"You're bragging" Elena reminded him.

Stefan smiled. "Sex like that is worth bragging about" he said, reaching his arms out and pulling her closer to him.

She rested her head against his chest and relaxed into him. "Is that all we are? Great sex?" she asked with a hint of teasing in her voice.

Stefan buried his face into her shoulder, placing light kisses there. "No. We're a pretty sexy team professionally too" he reminded, smiling against her skin.

"Yeah we are" Elena smiled, closing her eyes and preparing for sleep. "Goodnight, Stefan" she whispered.

"Night …" he whispered back, nearly asleep already.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Bonnie giggled, knowing full well that it was way too early to be doing what they were doing. "I love when you come into town" she said, laughing about something. She wasn't really sure what though. Bonnie was lounging in the loveseat, careful not to spill her glass of wine.

"I've missed you soooo soooooooooooooooooo much" Katherine slurred slightly, taking another sip of her glass of wine. "I forgot how much I love getting drunk with you at nine in the morning" she giggled, covering her mouth so she wouldn't be too loud.

"Shhhh" Bonnie whispered. "I don't want Damon to hear us!" she warned, then burst into a fit of giggles again.

"Too late" Damon said, walking into the room, working on his tie. "Katherine" he greeted.

"Come here you" Katherine smiled, practically crawling up the couch towards him.

"Oh, Katherine" he said, sitting down on the couch next to her. She put her arms around him, closing her eyes and sighing. "You had better sober up. You need to come in and meet Elena to further discuss that investment" he reminded her.

"Ugh, Elena" she said with complete disgust.

"Be nice" Damon warned. The last thing he needed was Katherine running Elena off.

"You're such a lucky bitch" Katherine said, directing her statement towards Bonnie and completely changing the subject. "He's got nice elbows" she said, bursting into a laughing fit. She grabbed his left elbow and stroked it for a moment. "I want nice elbows" she pouted, moving away from Damon and reaching for the wine bottle to refill her glass.

Damon got up and took it from her, not wanting her to spill on his carpet. "I think you two are done" he said.

"Daaaaaaamonnnnnn" Katherine whined. "I'm … not … I'm not … drunk" she protested slowly. "I'm … buzzed" she smiled, leaning her head back, throwing her arms up, and closing her eyes.

Damon rolled his eyes before going towards Bonnie. "I'll be home for dinner" he said softly, placing a gentle kiss against her lips. He could taste the red wine on them. "I love you" he said, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you" Bonnie said, giving him a small pout for leaving.

"You know" Katherine stated, pointing at him. "If you stayed home today, and drank with us, we could probably all have drunk sex together" she stated, as seriously as any drunk person could.

Damon knew that Bonnie was definitely drunk because she just laughed at Katherine, rather than getting mad at her for suggesting a threesome. "No more wine" Damon said, kissing Bonnie one last time. "Have fun ladies" he said, taking the wine bottle and disappearing out of the room.

"I love you too, Bonnie" Katherine told her, getting up from the couch and crawling to the loveseat. She got up on it with Bonnie, wrapping her in her arms. "I'm so glad I backed over you with my car in the mall parking lot all those years ago" Katherine smiled. "You've been the greatest friend I've ever had since you got out of the hospital" she added.

Bonnie hugged Katherine back. "I love you too" Bonnie told her. Even if Katherine had nearly broken every bone in her body when her Porsche backed over the top of her. "Just no more putting your lipstick on while you are backing out of a parking spot" Bonnie reminded, then giggled.

"Oh Bon Bon" Katherine said, snuggling even closer to her. "I wish you lived in New York with me" Katherine sighed, closing her eyes.

"Yeah" Bonnie said, pondering the idea. "But I would miss Damon too much" she decided.

Katherine scoffed in her drunken state. "I am SO much better than Damon" she decided.

Bonnie laughed. "I love you both" she stated.

"I love me more than Damon" Katherine giggled.

"Go to sleep Katherine" Bonnie told her, feeling sleepy herself. "On your own couch" she added, pushing Katherine off of the loveseat.

Katherine hit the floor with a thud and giggled some more. "Ouch" she said, curling up on the floor to go to sleep.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena had to focus really hard on working that day since Stefan couldn't help but send her little reminders about what they had done the night before. Like the sticky note she found on her keyboard when she got back from the bathroom, saying the conference room table was lonely and that they should go and warm it up. Or the e-mail asking if she wanted to try the copier out.

She would catch him grinning at her and all she could do was smile at him. "I'm going to go mail some documents" he said, leaning over her shoulder.

"Thank you" Elena said, taking a moment to turn her head and kiss him gently. She was breaking her own rules as far as being professional in the office went. Then again, they had done unspeakable things all throughout the office earlier, so she figured there was no harm in kissing him.

"Need anything while I'm out?" he asked, running his hands down her arms and giving them a firm squeeze.

"Maybe a peppermint mocha?" she asked.

Stefan smiled, placing a kiss against her neck. "You bet" he told her, reluctantly moving away from her. "Bye" he said, grabbing his coat and leaving the room.

Elena sighed a sigh of relief, knowing that she would have the next 30 minutes to herself without any distractions.

She wasn't that lucky though. "You must be Elena." Elena looked up to find a young woman, about her age, standing against the doorframe. Her arms were crossed as she looked at Elena with amusement.

Elena stood confidently, knowing who this woman was right away. "Miss Pierce, I presume" Elena said, walking halfway to Katherine and then stopping, waiting for her to make an effort to come to her as well.

Katherine smirked, pushing away from the doorframe and walking towards Elena. She took Elena's outstretched hand and shook it, all the while looking Elena up and down. "Call me Katherine" she told Elena.

"Katherine" Elena said, sizing her up some too. She was gorgeous, and Elena could tell right away why Stefan liked Katherine. She was confident, and oozed sex appeal. "You're here to discuss your possible investment with the company?" she asked.

Katherine smirked yet again. "Possible?" Katherine asked. "I am going to invest in Damon and Stefan's company" she informed. "I'm meeting with you out of respect for Stefan. Because he asked me to" she added.

Elena stared Katherine down, not liking her attitude one bit. But she was going to put up with her, because the company could possibly benefit from her money. "Please, have a seat" Elena told her, retreating back to her desk.

Katherine looked around the office a moment before following Elena, taking a seat near her. "I assume Stefan gave you my documents?" she asked.

Elena nodded. "I have reviewed them" Elena said, tilting her head slightly. "I'm curious" Elena began, watching Katherine examine her nails as if she were bored. "At what point did you think I would be okay with you completely screwing the Salvatore's over?" Elena asked.

Katherine dropped her smirk, glaring dangerously at Elena now. "Excuse me?" Katherine asked. "I am quite offended that you would ask me such a thing."

So Elena pulled out the documents Stefan had given her and flipped to the page she wanted. "While your investment of one million dollars is extremely generous" Elena stated. "Your terms are that you receive profits for your investment indefinitely. Therefore, you will earn a significant proportion of the company's revenue over time" she pointed out.

"I'm investing because I want to help Damon and Stefan" Katherine corrected.

Elena smiled. "Then you won't mind putting an end date on this deal" she told her. Katherine again glared at Elena. "My terms, as CFO of the company, are that the contract for your investment is up when you receive your one million dollars back, as well as a 15% profit for kindly letting us borrow your money." That was what Elena considered "helping the Salvatores." It was a fair offer.

"I'd like to discuss this investment with Stefan" Katherine said, standing immediately, clearly not liking Elena calling the shots.

"That won't be necessary" Elena said, standing as well. "He was obviously blinded by your history together." Katherine huffed, clearly frustrated with the woman in front of her. "You're sneaky, Katherine" Elena told her. "But you'll have to try harder" she added.

"We'll see what Stefan has to say about this" Katherine informed her.

Elena tossed Katherine's folder onto the desk for her. "While we're on the topic of Stefan, I'll also ask that you stay the hell away from him" she said, throwing that out there for Katherine.

Katherine stepped closer to Elena, sensing that Elena felt threatened. "If and when I so choose, I could have Stefan back in my arms" she stated confidently. "And he wouldn't even blink an eye about you" she added.

Somehow, Elena kept her cool. "Stefan and I are doing really well together" Elena informed. "I highly doubt he would throw us away for a one-night stand with an ex-girlfriend who only ever thought about herself" Elena said.

"It's okay to feel threatened about me, Elena" Katherine said, smiling at her. "I'll accept your terms for now" she added. "But quite honestly, I've got my eye on more than just this company" she stated. "Tell Stefan I'll be in touch" she smirked.

Elena forced a fake smile, when all she really wanted to do was slap that smile right off of Katherine's face. "Lovely meeting you, Katherine" Elena said forcefully. "I trust that you can see yourself out."

"I'm sure I can" Katherine told her. With one last flip of her hair, she was out the door.

Elena let out a breath she had been holding in. Katherine was worse than she had imagined. The only question was, did Elena mention to Stefan what Katherine was up to?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena eagerly knocked on Stefan's door later than night, deciding to give him a surprise visit. He broke out into a smile when he opened the door and saw her. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Elena wrapped her arms around him as he pulled her into his apartment. "I sleep better when you're next to me" she said.

"I like hearing you say that" Stefan said, holding her close and kissing her. "Have you had dinner yet, because I can make you something" he offered.

"I'm fine" Elena said, turning her head up to look at him. "I kind of had something else in mind" she said. Stefan looked at her curiously. She leaned up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. "Bathtub."

Stefan's eyes got wide. "You and me?" he asked for clarification. Elena smiled. "I'll go start the water" he said, nearly running for the bathroom.

Elena laughed, loving that she had that effect on him. She set her bag down and went in search of wine. It would go great with the bathtub.

Elena eventually wandered into the bathroom carrying two glasses of wine. She saw that he had candles lit all around as well as bubbles in the tub. When he dimmed the lights, the flames flickered on the walls. It was incredibly romantic. "How come we haven't done this sooner?" Stefan asked, coming behind Elena and grabbing the hem of her shirt, playing with the idea of taking it off of her.

"Mistake on our part" Elena smiled, putting her hands on top of his. Stefan kissed her cheek slowly, tugging on her shirt. Elena lifted her arms and Stefan slid the shirt up and over her head. Elena turned around and did the same to him, grabbing his shirt and pulling it off of him. She took a moment to admire his chest, running her fingers over every muscle there. Then, she leaned in and placed a kiss against his skin, showing just how much she appreciated his physique.

They took their time undressing one another before slipping into the Jacuzzi tub of his. Stefan got in first and Elena after, leaning against him. They let the warm water take over, relaxing every muscle in their bodies. "This should be a weekly routine" Stefan said against her ear, smiling at the thought of being naked in a bathtub with Elena.

"I think so too" Elena said, feeling Stefan's hands begin to roam over her body beneath the bubbles. She closed her eyes, smiling when she felt his hands on her thighs, rubbing small circles. They moved to her stomach, resting there for a few minutes. All thoughts about her earlier meeting with Katherine were gone.

"I love this" Stefan said softly, kissing her shoulder. They were silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Would it be totally inappropriate to ask you how your meeting with Katherine went?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes" Elena answered, then she smiled. "But I'll tell you anyways, because I was a total badass" she added.

Stefan laughed. "Do tell" he encouraged, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tight.

"Well" Elena said, cupping some of the bubbles in her hand. "She tried to screw you guys over" Elena announced. "With terms for an indefinite profit on her investment" she explained.

"I was hoping you would see that" Stefan said, kissing her ear playfully. He had caught that after looking more thoroughly over Katherine's documents.

"Oh, I sure did" Elena said, thankful that he really hadn't been blinded by Katherine. "I think she thought I was stupid enough to overlook that. But I set her straight and I think we came to an agreement. Well, meaning she had to agree to what I said" Elena corrected.

"I'm sure she was real happy about that" Stefan grinned.

Elena smiled proudly. "I also set her straight about us" she added. Stefan looked down at her curiously. "Oh, she wants you back" Elena informed him. "And she was pretty sure she could get you back too."

Stefan sighed. "Katherine is used to getting what she wants" he mentioned, grabbing Elena's hands in his. "But this time, she's going to see how crazy I am about you, and that I am happy where I am" he told her. This made Elena smile. "Right" he said, grabbing her chin so he could see her eyes. "Here" he said, smiling at her. "With" he added, moving in towards her. "You" he finished before pressing his lips against hers.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Just some more cuteness that I thought we could all enjoy. Eventually I should throw some heartache into the mix, but writing Stefan and Elena all happy is good to mend our broken TV hearts for right now :D**

**As I mentioned on Twitter, I adore Bonnie. And Katherine. **

Laughter filled the bathroom as Stefan had he and Elena wrapped in one towel, holding her close and trying to kiss her. "Stefan … we need … to go to … bed" she said, trying not to give in to him, but like always, failing miserably.

Stefan just smiled as he wrapped the towel around them even tighter. "This is me getting ready for bed" Stefan told her innocently, leaning in to kiss her again.

But Elena snuck her hand out of the towel and placed her finger against his eager lips. "We have work tomorrow" she reminded.

Stefan groaned. "Do we have to be responsible?" he asked, leaning his head against her shoulder.

Elena smiled and nodded her head. "We really do" she told him. "Well, at least during the workweek" she added.

Stefan kissed her shoulder playfully. "If it were a weekend night, I'd have you up on that bathroom sink so fast …" he said seductively, tracing his finger along her hip.

His words, his warm breath, both had her attention. "Jesus Stefan" she told him, a bit shocked that he would say such a thing when he knew they couldn't do such a thing right then. "Don't say things like that right before I'm supposed to try and sleep" she said.

Stefan smiled against her before leaning away from her so he could look at her again. "Now you know how I feel" he told her. She looked at him curiously, really having no idea what he was talking about. "You walk around all sexy and pretty all day and expect me to get work done" he pointed out.

Elena laughed at him. "So, do you want me to dress uglier?" she asked him, fully amused with his revelation.

"Wouldn't help" Stefan sighed. "I know what you look like naked, and therefore, I'd just picture you naked under your ugly clothes" he pointed out.

"You … have issues" she told him, pushing him backwards so they could walk together out of the bathroom.

"I'm okay with my issues" he grinned, earning him an eye roll from her. Somehow, they got their pajamas on. Though Stefan just opted for his sweats and Elena was completely okay with that. "You know" Stefan said, reaching over and shutting the lamp off. "You spend a lot of nights over here already. Maybe you should leave some of your stuff here" he said, throwing it out there for her to consider.

Elena sat there for a moment, thinking it over. That sounded like a … commitment. "That makes us sound serious" she said, half joking and half serious.

Stefan fluffed his pillow and leaned back. "Aren't we?" he asked. "I mean, we spend a lot of time together. We like spending time together. We're not dating other people on the side …" he said. "I'd call us serious."

"I suppose" she said hesitantly. She was reluctant, and for good reason. Years with Gregory and she had never been invited to leave some of her stuff at his place. She felt Stefan wrap his arms around her and pull her to him.

"I'm not asking you to move in" he said, kissing her head because he sensed her hesitancy.

"I just … we've never really discussed commitments before" she reminded him.

Stefan smiled even more. "Consider this the first commitment in our relationship then" he told her, holding her even closer if that were possible. "Baby steps" he whispered.

She could leave some of her things at Stefan's. It wasn't that big of a deal. Except that it was. "Okay" she told him, resting her head against his chest. Stefan smiled. It was a start.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You called Katherine?" Bonnie's voice roared through the downstairs living area. Damon's face paled. "I told you not to!" she yelled, waving the broom she had been cleaning with.

"I didn't tell her to show up!" Damon said, throwing his hands up in defeat. "She showed up all on her own" he reminded. That earned him the first whack with the broom she was holding. "Ow!" he said, trying to shield his head from any further attacks.

"You knew Stefan was interested in Elena, and yet you called Katherine, knowing she would probably show up and quite possibly try and get Stefan back" Bonnie said, still outraged with her husband to be.

"But she didn't get him back" Damon pointed out.

"Not the point!" Bonnie said angrily, whacking him with the broom again. "You went behind my back. I had to hear from Katherine that you called her up!"

"What do you want me to say?" he said, desperate for her to stop whacking him with her broom. "I'm sorry, okay" he told her. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I didn't know my brother was that serious about Elena. But I do now" he said sincerely. He watched Bonnie's angry expression soften as she lowered her broom.

Bonnie sighed. "I just want him to be happy" she said.

Damon approached her, grabbing the broom and setting it aside. "I do too" he told her, pulling her into a hug. "So hopefully, Katherine will go home and leave Stefan alone" he added.

Bonnie laughed. "In what world would that happen?" Bonnie asked him. "I'm having lunch with her today to try and talk some sense into her."

"Or you could take your broom and knock some sense into her" Damon suggested. Bonnie glared at him. But he quickly kissed her, distracting her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Elena's really nice" Bonnie stated, looking at herself in the full length mirror at the small boutique. She turned to one side and then the other.

Katherine sipped on her glass of chardonnay and rolled her eyes. "Nice?" Katherine asked. "Stefan doesn't need nice. He needs … someone who is passionate. Driven. Wild" she smirked.

Bonnie turned around and looked at Katherine. "You mean he needs you?" she asked. Katherine shrugged her arms as if to say that she wasn't going to directly say that, but yeah, it was true. "For your information, Elena is passionate and driven" Bonnie informed her. "She's saving the company" she added, turning back to the mirror.

Again, Katherine rolled her eyes. "I could have saved the company too" she said, setting her glass down. "I mean, God. You should have seen us at breakfast. That connection was still there. We could have easily had sex had little Miss Elena not been in the picture."

"Leave Stefan alone, Katherine" Bonnie warned. "He's happy. And they are ridiculously cute together" she told her. Katherine mocked her silently and Bonnie could see it in the mirror. But she decided to let it go. "She's good for him. She challenges him, yet gives him everything he needs too."

Katherine scoffed. "Who's side are you on?" she asked, demanding to know.

Bonnie sighed as she turned around. "I'm on no one's side" she told her friend. "I'm just saying, you had your chance, and you threw it away to go to New York" she reminded. "Now let Elena have her chance."

Katherine rolled her eyes again. "It's just sex between them. It will get old after a while. I'm not worried" Katherine shrugged.

Bonnie laughed lightly and smiled at herself in the mirror. "It is so much more than sex" she told Katherine. "If you saw the way his eyes lit up every time Elena walked into the room, you'd know" she stated. Then Bonnie turned around and smiled softly. "He's in love, Katherine" she told her gently. "I'm sorry it's not with you, but he needs this. Stefan needs a person to love. And Elena's that person" she explained.

Katherine listened to her words carefully, not liking them at all. "Has he told her he loves her?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know" Bonnie answered. "I just … I know these things" she told her.

"How do you know?" Katherine asked.

Again, Bonnie smiled. "Because Stefan looks at Elena the same way Damon looks at me" she told her.

Katherine crossed her arms, ready to pout. "That is horrible proof" she said, standing. "And that dress looks hideous on you" she pointed out, turning on her heel to go and find something else for Bonnie to try on.

Bonnie just shook her head and laughed. You either put up with Katherine or you didn't. Bonnie didn't let the comment get to her though. Because she was still excited over the fact that Stefan was so happy with Elena. And no one, not even Katherine, was going to mess that up. Bonnie looked at her dress in the mirror once more and decided that Katherine was right. It was not the dress to wear to a gala event.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

By the time Saturday rolled around, Elena was thankful. It had been an unusual week, but a good week. Little by little, the finances were growing and Stefan was turning out to be a great partner in helping her achieve financial stability.

The gala event was the following weekend and Elena figured she had better find a dress. She finished putting her boots on, ready to embrace the chilly November air of Seattle. A knock on her door caught her attention though and when she checked the time, she wondered who it could have been.

"Morning" Stefan smiled, leaning against her door all sexy and cute like it was effortless.

"Hey" she said, reaching up and placing a light kiss against his lips. "What brings you by?" she asked, moving aside for him to come in.

Stefan shrugged. "I woke up today, realized I had nothing to do, and thought I might wander on over here and see what you were up to" he said, wrapping his arms around her.

"So you're bored" Elena concluded, looking up at him with a small grin.

"Pretty much" Stefan told her. "So, what are we doing today?" he asked, noticing that she was already dressed.

"I" Elena emphasized. "Am going shopping to find a dress for the gala next weekend" she informed him, slipping out of his arms so she could put her jacket on.

"Huh" Stefan said, looking at her. "Did you know that I happen to be excellent at picking out dresses to be worn to gala events?" he asked her.

Elena laughed. "Seriously Stefan, no" she told him, zipping up her jacket. "I am going to a few stores and picking out something simple. I have been buying my own dresses since I was 12. I think I can handle this on my own" she said.

Stefan frowned. "Then what am I supposed to do while you're gone shopping?" he asked.

Elena laughed again. "I don't know. Go for a run, buy a new book …" she listed off for him. "We'll see each other tonight" she said, walking to her door and opening it, turning back to look at him.

He wasn't moving. And he looked absolutely pathetic. "Okay" he sulked, lowering his head and laying the guilt on her right away. "I guess I'll just go back home" he said.

"Okay" Elena said, not playing into his guilt.

Slowly, Stefan walked towards her, ready to leave. "It's just, I've been alone for so long" he said, stopping at the door. "And now that I've found someone, I just want to be with you" he said softly. Then, he turned and began walking out of the apartment.

Elena watched him and wondered how much was just for show, and how much was truly him getting his feelings hurt. "Wait" Elena said, causing him to stop. She sighed. "If you would like to spend the morning shopping with me, then I guess it would be okay for you to come" she told him. She just couldn't stand thinking about his sad puppy face all day.

And when he turned around, he had the brightest smile on his face. "Yeah?" he asked and Elena nodded. He walked back to her and wrapped her in a hug, showing his appreciation. "I can't believe that worked" he said, pulling away from her and grinning proudly.

"You suck" Elena said, pushing him away from her and grabbing her purse. Yes, she had fallen for it. "I won't fall for that ever again" she said, locking her door and walking off.

Stefan smiled as he followed her. "Yeah, but I have many tricks up my sleeve" he called out, running to catch up with her. "You have to admit, I am adorable and that is why you put up with me" he said, jumping into the elevator with her.

"I put up with you because you're good in bed" she corrected.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. "You're not so bad yourself" he whispered against her ear.

Elena smiled. "What have I gotten myself into?" she asked herself.

"You'll find out, eventually" he added, kissing her cheek. And Elena was sure that she would.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I'm just going to look around" Elena told Stefan as soon as they walked into the store. She patted his chest lightly and turned around, in search of something elegant, yet simple.

"Okay" Stefan said, figuring he would look around too. The store had a wide variety of dresses and Stefan thought they all looked nice. Elena would look nice in anything. But one in particular caught his eye and he was quick to grab it.

When he found Elena again, she had three dresses in her arms and was about to go behind the curtain of the small room to change. "There you are" Elena said, seeing that he already had a dress in his hands too.

"I found your dress" Stefan said proudly, holding it up for her to see.

Elena's face paled. "Stefan!" she gasped. "I cannot wear that to a gala" she said, quite flustered with him. "You would see my breasts and ass through that!" she whispered harshly, silently begging him to put it down so no one would walk by and see him suggesting it for her. It was dark blue and lacy and definitely did not leave much to the imagination.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "I didn't say you had to wear it to the gala" he told her. "But I think we could have some fun with this around the apartment" he grinned, waving it in front of her.

Elena blew out a flustered breath. "No" she stated. "Now put that back!" she demanded.

"No" Stefan stated stubbornly.

"I came here to find a dress for the gala. Not to find one for our sex life" she said, looking around to make sure no one heard. "I can't believe they would sell that here" she added, shaking her head.

"And I can't believe you are saying no to one of my ultimate dreams" he told her, approaching her slowly. "If I were to come home and you just so happened to be dressed in this" he said, smiling at just the thought. "I'd be the happiest guy alive" he grinned, leaning in towards her and attempting to kiss her. She let him though, because the thought of him being that excited in seeing her dressed in something like that was kind of a turn on for her. "You'd look amazing in it" he said, trying to tempt her just a little more.

"Yeah?" she asked, being just as flirty with him as he was being with her. "Tell me more things like that" she said quietly, allowing him to take her in his arms and snuggle his face against hers. She was so weak when it came to him and right now, she was okay with it.

"I'd get to feel your skin through the thin little material" he said, whispering against her ear.  
"And when I started to get a little too impatient, you'd feel my hands slip under your dress and touch …" he began, only to be shushed by her.

"Okay!" she said, laughing quietly at the fact that they were talking about these things in a store. "I get it" she said, feeling her skin turning a little warmer now at just the thought of what he could do to her in that dress. "I'll get the dress for you" she said, smiling against his face.

"Yes!" he said, completely excited. "I'll buy it for you" he insisted. "It is more of a present for me than for you anyway" he informed her.

Elena turned a shade of red and had to move away from him. "Can we now pick out my dress for the gala?" she asked him.

Stefan backed up a few steps and took a seat. "Please" he said, waving her on to try on the first dress. Elena shook her head, trying to be annoyed with him but really not being able to. She disappeared behind the curtain for a few minutes. "Need any help in there?" he asked, more than willing to assist if he needed to.

"I've got it" Elena told him, opening the curtain to reveal a pink cream chiffon dress that followed her legs all the way to the floor. She walked out and turned slowly for him. "What do you think?" she asked. Stefan was too busy staring at her to even hear her question. "Stefan?" she asked.

"How the hell did I get so lucky?" he asked, standing up and placing his dress on the chair next to him. "You look … really beautiful" he told her, grabbing her hands and taking another look at her.

She looked down at the ground and smiled. "Thank you" she told him, looking back up and him eventually.

"I uh, I don't think you even need to try the other ones on" he told her. Elena smiled as she nodded, going back to change.

When she emerged, Stefan followed her up to pay. "Will this be everything?" the woman asked, eyeing Stefan.

"It sure will" he said proudly, handing her his credit card. "And I'm going to enjoy this" he added, embarrassing Elena even more as he held up the sexy little blue dress.

"I hate you" Elena concluded as she stepped up to the counter to pay for her dress. The woman ringing her up was smiling, clearly affected by Stefan's charm. "Thank you" Elena said, grabbing her dress and walking out of the store with Stefan.

"I love shopping with you" Stefan told her, grabbing her bag to hold for her.

"I'm sure you do" Elena said. "I'll know now to never take you with me to buy lingerie" she added.

Stefan stopped dead in his tracks with clearly a hurt expression on his face. "That was really mean of you to just say, Elena" he told her. Elena laughed at him as she continued walking. "You might as well just rip out my heart and stomp all over it while you're at it" he added.

"You're too much Stefan" Elena said, going into a small café for an early lunch. He followed eventually. Once they were seated with their drinks, she pulled out an envelope and passed it to him. "This is for you" she told him.

Stefan took the envelope. "An apology for telling me you would never take me with you to help you pick out your lingerie?" he asked, grinning when he saw her bite her bottom lip and shake her head. "A plane ticket" he said, finally opening it.

"To Virginia" she clarified. "For Thanksgiving. I would like you to come with me to meet my family" she said.

Stefan held the ticket in his hands for a moment, studying it. "You sure we're ready for this?" he asked.

Elena took a small breath in and let it out. "Yes" she answered.

Stefan smiled, standing some and leaning over the table to kiss her. "I'd be happy to accompany you and to meet your family" he told her.

Elena smiled. "Good. Because Aunt Jenna is expecting you" she added, grabbing her coffee and taking a sip.

Stefan smiled as well, picking up his own cup of coffee. "I can't wait."

**A/N: Okay universe, you can drop my own Stefan off at my doorstep any day now. **


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Enjoy!**

His neighbor had told her that he might be downstairs in the gym, as he could typically be found there early on some mornings. Elena expressed her thanks, having been knocking on Stefan's door the past five minutes. He hadn't answered the phone either.

Elena hopped back on the elevator, punching the button with the floor labeled gym. She never thought much about a gym being in his building. Then again, the entire building was catered to extremely wealthy people, so a fully equipped gym wasn't out of the question. After all, Stefan's abs didn't just appear on their own.

Elena entered the gym area and looked around, seeing a few people scattered around the area working out. Stefan wasn't hard to find. He was the guy doing pull-ups, shirtless in his track pants. Every time he lifted himself up, the muscles in his back flexed. His arms had their own way of showing off too.

There was nothing sexier for Elena than standing there, watching him. "Oh wow" Elena whispered to herself. She took the nearest seat and sat down to watch him work. He did ten repetitions before dropping back to the floor. He grabbed a nearby towel and wiped the sweat off of his face. "Mr. Salvatore, that was impressive" she said, smiling when he turned around.

Stefan smiled at her too, swinging the towel over his shoulder and walking towards her. "Like what you see Miss Gilbert?" he asked, grinning as he approached her. He bent down, placing his hands on the armrests of the chair and looking at her.

Elena continued to smile at him. His chest was shiny, having been coated with sweat from working out. "I didn't think I'd be that turned on by seeing you work out" she told him. "But damn" she said. "I should come watch you do this more often."

Stefan leaned in and kissed her briefly. "The offer is always open" he told her. "But, something tells me you didn't just come here to watch me be sexy" he said.

Elena laughed. "No" she said. Then, she looked away, slightly embarrassed at what she was going to say. "Do you uh, remember that … light pink bra I had on the other night?" she asked quietly.

Stefan smiled. "You mean the one I took off with my teeth?" he asked.

Elena nodded, completely embarrassed. But she looked up at him. "I think I left it at your place and I need it for tonight" she informed him.

"We could go upstairs and try and find it" he told her, moving in close and pressing his lips against hers. He stood back up, reaching down and grabbing her, throwing her over his shoulder.

"Stefan!" she laughed, getting a great view of his backside as he carried her out of the gym. "I can walk" she informed him.

Stefan smacked her butt as he walked. "I'm well aware of that" he informed her, getting on the elevator.

"So how are we getting to the event tonight?" Elena asked as Stefan put her down.

"Limo" Stefan announced. "Don't give me that look" Stefan warned, pointing his finger at her as soon as she gave him that disbelieving look. "This is all Damon's doing. I don't even want to go" he reminded.

Elena pretended to be offended. "You don't want to spend an evening with me?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"You know that's not what I meant" he said, reaching his arms out and grabbing her to pull her to him. "There are so many other things you and I could be doing this evening" he said against her ear.

Elena smiled. "It's for a good cause" she reminded him.

"So why can't I just give them money and stay home with you then?" he questioned.

Elena turned around in his arms. "Because. I just bought a new dress and you have to take me to this event so I can show it off" she informed him. "And, appearance is everything in this business. People need to see that Salvatore Coffee is still ever present" she added.

"At least there's an open bar" he smiled.

"That's definitely a plus" Elena said, leaning her head against him and sighing. "You know he's probably going to be there, right?" Elena asked quietly. She felt Stefan's arms tighten around her protectively. "You have to behave yourself. We can't afford a lawsuit right now because you punch him." They exited the elevator and walked towards his apartment.

"I'll do it if he deserves it" Stefan said stubbornly. There was no way he would let Gregory get away with anything.

"Stefan" Elena warned. She looked back at him. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid" she told him.

"Define stupid" he said, attempting to be cute, but she wasn't falling for it. "Fine, fine" he said, giving up. "I will be on my best behavior" he promised.

"Promise?" she asked.

"Promise" he said, sealing his promise with a kiss.

"Thank you" she told him, slipping out of his arms. "Now, I need to find my bra and then go and get my nails done" she stated, walking towards his room.

"I think the bra came off before we reached the bedroom!" he called out, searching around the couch. To be honest, he had been too preoccupied with getting her naked to be worried about where he was tossing her clothes.

"No, you got it off right before you tossed me on the bed!" she called back.

Stefan stopped and replayed that night in his mind. Then he smiled. "Yeah, you're right!" he yelled, coming to join her in his room. "Come here" he said, grabbing her and kissing her quickly.

"Stefan" she mumbled against his lips, pushing against his chest. "What are you doing?" she asked, almost breathless.

"Reenacting that night so I can remember where I flung your bra" he told her, completely innocently and honestly. He had the biggest smile, but she was shaking her head no at him.

"I don't have time to reenact with you right now" she informed him. "Just search" she commanded, turning around and looking behind his dresser, the nightstand and under the bed.

Stefan checked behind the door and found it. He smiled, picking it up. "Look what I found" he said, waving it around.

"Thank God" Elena said, walking towards him and reaching out for it. Stefan pulled it away from her though. "Hey!" she warned, reaching for it again. He pulled it out of her reach again, holding it above her head. "What are you, a teenage boy?" Elena asked, crossing her arms and refusing to engage in his teenage behavior.

"I found it" he informed her. "I just think I should earn a reward for my … achievement" he told her, grinning.

"Because it was so hard to find a bra that you took off of me a few nights ago" she scoffed.

"Whatever you think is fair. I won't be picky" he told her, continuing to smile as he walked around her and sat on his bed. He set her bra behind him and waited expectantly.

"Really Stefan?" she asked in disbelief. He shrugged, and if he wasn't so damn cute, she probably would have been mad at him. But the fact of the matter was, he was absolutely adorable when he was this playful and carefree. It was exactly what she needed, being surrounded by arrogant adults in the business world all day. "What if I make you a promise for tonight" she offered, walking towards him.

True to his nature, his eyes were on her body as she walked, though he knew he should have been looking at her eyes. "This sounds promising" he told her, forcing himself to meet her eyes as she straddled his lap, wrapping her hands around his neck. "What if I were to come back here with you tonight and we did whatever you wanted to do" she proposed. His eyes lit up as her words registered in his brain.

"Anything?" he asked, allowing the possibilities to run through his mind. Elena nodded. "I'll have to uh … think about it" he said, suddenly feeling short of breath all of a sudden. His excitement was getting the better of him.

"You do that" Elena smiled, leaning in and kissing him. When she pulled away from him, she noticed that his eyes were still closed, almost as if he was composing himself. She looked at him with amusement for a moment. "Do I really have this much of an effect on you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side curiously.

Stefan opened his eyes and looked at her seriously. "You have no idea the effect you have on me Elena" he said quietly. She was speechless, hearing him admit that to her with so much sincerity. "Here" he said, reaching back around him and handing her the bra. "I'll see you tonight" he whispered, smiling as he gently pressed his lips to hers.

And he was looking forward to it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena looked at herself in the mirror, admiring the way the dress fit her. She was extremely happy with her choice and hoped that she looked good enough to be on Stefan's arm all night. Then she smiled. Of course she would. They were two of Seattle's most notable CFOs. They complimented one another.

Then again, Elena had left Gregory for Stefan within a matter of weeks. Truthfully, she was worried about what others would think. They didn't know that Gregory was selfish, cold, harsh, and a cheater. Or that Stefan was giving, warm, gentle, and committed. She smiled as she thought about Stefan.

Stefan was not perfect, but he was about as close as she had gotten when it came to dating. He was cute and playful and … well, an attentive lover in bed. It was almost distracting to think about what he had planned for them when they returned from the gala.

She heard a knock on her door, pulling her from her sexual fantasies with Stefan. Elena checked her appearance one more time before grabbing her clutch and going to answer the door. On the other side of it was Stefan, dressed in his best suit and tie, and holding two dozen red roses. "Hi" he smiled, seeing that his roses had done the job. She looked both surprised and excited.

"You brought me roses?" she asked, looking up at him. Stefan nodded and handed them to her. "They're beautiful" she told him.

Stefan leaned forward and kissed her. "Just like you" he whispered, kissing her one last time.

"You're very sweet" Elena said, smiling as she turned around to go and put the flowers away. Stefan remained where he was, waiting for her. "Okay, I'm ready" she said, walking back.

Stefan helped her with her shawl and then grabbed her hand, leading her out. He was starting to think that the gala event wasn't going to be so terrible after all.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hotel Bellevue, the hotel hosting the gala event, was far more beautiful the second time around for Elena. She grabbed ahold of Stefan's arm and followed him inside behind Damon and Bonnie.

The room was already filled with business men, women and their significant others. Elena scanned the room carefully, but Gregory was nowhere in sight. Maybe he wasn't going to show up. "Should we find our seats?" Stefan asked, leaning in close to her ear so she could hear him over the noise. She nodded and followed him. Their table was towards the front, as were most of the other business members who had supported the fundraising effort.

Stefan pulled her chair out for her, earning him an appreciative smile from Elena as she sat down. He grabbed her hand under the table to hold as the first speaker of the night approached the stage.

Dinner had gone smoothly and after the last presenter had come up on stage, the guests were encouraged to enjoy drinks and to mingle.

Stefan returned from the restroom, looking for Elena who was not where he had seen her last. It didn't take long to see her across the room with some guy Stefan didn't recognize. The guy was leaning in towards her, laughing and smiling and completely flirting with her.

And Stefan didn't like it. Stefan didn't like feeling threatened, especially if it meant he could lose something. Or, someone. He took the first step forward, ready to inform this guy that he was dangerously close to acquiring a beating.

He felt a hand press firmly against his chest and looked down to see Bonnie shaking her head. "Don't you dare go over there and make an ass out of yourself or Elena" she warned. Stefan opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off. "She's talking to him. That's all, Stefan" she reminded him. "If they start undressing each other, then you have my permission to go and kick his ass" she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Stefan's face looked conflicted. "I get it" Bonnie smiled softly. "But you have to trust her" she reminded.

Stefan's body seemed to relax as he listened to Bonnie. He did trust Elena. He just didn't like sharing. Time Elena was spending with that other guy meant time that Stefan didn't get with her. "I'm good" Stefan said, putting his hands up.

"Good" Bonnie said, patting his chest. "I have to go and save Damon. He's being tortured by investment bankers" she said.

Stefan looked over and saw where Damon was standing, bored out of his mind. "Go" he sighed. "I'll be fine" he told her. Bonnie gave him a warning look before wandering off. Stefan remained where he was, watching Elena with this guy. Stefan was going to give them one more minute to finish their conversation before he would approach them. But when the guy's hand touched Elena's arm, Stefan decided the minute was up. "Don't hurt him, don't hurt him" Stefan said quietly to himself as he walked towards them. And when the guy leaned in and kissed Elena's cheek, Stefan's temper was teetering over the edge. "Don't kill him, don't kill him" Stefan said to himself, walking even faster.

When Stefan reached them, he grabbed the guys wrist, removing his hand from Elena. Both Elena and the guy looked up at Stefan in surprise. "Excuse you" the guy said, ripping his hand out of Stefan's grasp. "What's your problem?" he asked, irritated with Stefan.

"My problem?" Stefan asked, calm, though he was about ready to punch this guy. "I'm a little uncomfortable with how close you're getting to my girlfriend" he told him.

"Stefan" Elena said, surprised to see Stefan acting this jealous. "This is Brad Herman. Of Herman Enterprises" she said, introducing her new acquaintance.

This meant nothing to Stefan though. "I don't want to see you talking to her again tonight, do you understand me?" Stefan asked. His tone and his stare were serious and the guy would have been an idiot to ignore Stefan.

"Whatever" the guy said, walking off and having no desire to get into a confrontation with Stefan.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked, turning to Elena.

She looked at him like he was crazy. "What the hell was that?" she asked, clearly upset with him.

"What?" Stefan asked, clearly not seeing a problem with what he had done. "Hey" he said, grabbing her hand.

"You're unbelievable" Elena said, pulling her hand away from him and leaving. Here she was, trying to network with other professionals, and Stefan was going around being a jealous ass. At least when she was jealous, she did it in private.

She wasn't sure where she was going, but she ended up leaving the event room and walking down an empty corridor, needing to be by herself for a little bit. "Elena!" Stefan called, walking down the corridor towards her.

"Leave me alone Stefan" she told him, turning her back to him. "I don't want to talk to you right now."

He grabbed her elbow, trying to turn her around to face him, but she just shrugged him off. When she tried to leave, he grabbed ahold of her, pushing her up against the wall and pinning her with his body. Her mouth was slightly open as she stood there, his hands holding on to hers. He looked right into her eyes, hating that she was so mad at him. "Don't be mad at me" he said quietly, leaning in towards her and kissing her softly. She didn't reciprocate, indicating that she was still mad. He kissed her neck instead, knowing it was her weakness. His teeth then grazed over her ear, causing her to close her eyes. "I just go so crazy when I think about someone else touching you" he whispered, sighing to make sure she could feel his breath against her skin.

"You overreacted" she breathed out, unable to stop her body from giving in and melting into his.

"I can't help it" he told her, letting go of her hands and running one of his hands down her thigh, bunching up her dress so he could touch her skin there. His hand caressed her leg slowly and his lips moved down to her shoulder, kissing her there too.

"You can't do that" she said, slowly giving in to him.

"I'll work on it" he whispered. "I just don't like other guys looking at you like that" he said, kissing her shoulder again.

"They're allowed to look" Elena said, wrapping her arms around him. "But that's it" she added.

The sexy, intimate moment changed, and Stefan picked up on it. His hand let her dress fall back down and his arms wrapped around her too, holding her close. "I still don't like it" he said, leaning his head against hers.

"You don't have to" she replied, leaning back slightly and kissing him softly. "But know that I am going home with you tonight, and no one else" she said.

Stefan smiled. Yes, she was going home with him. And they were going to have a great time. "I'm sorry" he whispered.

"I forgive you" she said. "Now, can we go back to the party without you trying to beat up everyone who looks at me?" she asked.

Stefan laughed. "If I beat someone up, that probably means no sex tonight, right?" he asked.

"You are absolutely right" she smiled, grabbing his tie and playing with it.

"I'll behave" he promised, grabbing her hand and kissing it. He wrapped one arm around her and began walking with her back to the party. He may have spoken too soon about behaving though.

"Elena" Gregory said, hands in his pockets as he stood there. He looked a mess, like he hadn't slept in weeks.

Stefan immediately tightened his hold on Elena. "Why don't you go and find Damon and Bonnie" Stefan said. He would stay and deal with Gregory.

"I'd actually like to speak with Elena" Gregory interrupted.

Elena watched the two of them stare each other down and decided she had best say something. "Stefan" she said, placing her hand on his arm. "I'll give him five minutes" she said, searching Stefan's eyes. It wasn't difficult to read them. He wasn't happy about it at all.

"Five minutes" Stefan finally said, rubbing Elena's shoulder before walking off. He made sure to stay within eyesight of them.

"He's controlling" Gregory said, looking at Elena.

"He cares about me" Elena corrected. "He's just looking out for me. And you have four minutes now" she said.

Gregory sighed. "I made a mistake, Elena" he told her. "Firing you. Cheating on you. All of it" he said. "I'm sorry I was such an idiot."

"Is that all?" Elena asked, crossing her arms.

"I want you back, Elena" he said, completely seriously. Elena looked at him in disbelief. "We were amazing together" he said, stepping towards her and reaching for her hands.

Elena stepped back though. "Amazing?" she asked, beginning to get frustrated with him. "Wow. You have a pretty distorted perception of amazing" she added.

"I know I made mistakes" he tried again.

Elena shook her head. "You used me and threw me away. And now that I'm happy, you want me back?" she asked. "I don't think so."

"Elena, please" he said, desperate this time.

"Your time is up" Elena told him, cutting his five minutes short. "Get some sleep. You look like shit" she added before walking away from him.

Stefan was right there, wrapping his arms around her for support. "You okay?" he asked.

Elena nodded against him. "Take me home" she told him.

His heart sank a little hearing her say that. "Your place?" he asked for clarification.

Elena shook her head. "No, yours" she said.

Stefan silently sighed from relief. "Come on" he said, keeping his arm around her as he walked her out. They stopped to grab her shawl. "We'll take a cab home" he added.

"Thank you" she said, looking up at him as they walked and accepting his kiss. "Are you going to let Damon know?" she asked.

He took his phone out and typed a short message and sent the text. "Done" he smiled. He kept his arms around her as they waited for an available cab.

Suddenly, he was grinning like the happiest guy alive.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked curiously.

"Remember how you said we could do anything I wanted when we got back tonight?" he asked. Elena nodded. "I just figured out what I want to do. And I was just picturing it in my head" he told her. "And it was pretty incredible." Elena laughed at him. "I wasn't trying to make you laugh" he told her. "I'm serious" he added. "We were having a really good time in my head."

Elena buried her face into his jacket. "I wish I could get in your head then" she smiled.

Stefan leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I will tell you all about it on our cab ride back" he promised.

"No" Elena said. "I want it to be a surprise" she added. "I like surprises."

"You do?" he asked. "Naked, sexy surprises?" he clarified.

"With you? Yeah" she smiled, glad to feel him hold her close.

"Good answer" he smiled, running his hand through her hair.

**A/N: I am going to start the next chapter off with some sexy time :D**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews! And the tweets! I enjoy chatting with you all :D**

**Enjoy this chapter. Not quite M, but a little more than T. So, the new rating is Q. ;)**

Elena sighed as soon as she walked through Stefan's door. She immediately tossed her clutch aside and went to work on getting her shoes off. Stefan already had his arms around her, laying kisses over any skin he had access to. "You're not making this easy" Elena smiled, bending over to get the last shoe off.

"You're a powerful CFO" Stefan reminded, moving her hair out of his way and kissing her shoulder. "You don't like easy" he said, kissing her shoulder again.

Elena smirked. "That's true" she said, wrapping her arms around his as he continued to hold her, nibbling and kissing her skin right in the middle of his living room. "So, what did you have in mind for tonight?" she asked.

"Patience, Elena" he said slowly, wrapping his arms just a little tighter around her and pressing his face against her cheek. "You know what we never did tonight?" he asked.

"What?" Elena asked.

"We never danced" he told her, beginning to sway his body and pull her with him.

Elena laughed at him as she turned herself around so she could face him. "I didn't know you danced" she said. Stefan grabbed her hand and wrapped his other arm around her, holding her close. He led the way, turning them in a slow circle. "You're good at it" she said, smiling as she looked up at him.

"I don't do it often, so, consider yourself lucky" he told her, smiling as he leaned down and kissed her softly.

Elena allowed herself to get lost in that kiss, loving the fact that nothing else mattered right then. When he pulled away from her eventually, he smiled at her, seeing that her eyes were still closed. "I have a feeling I could get you to do a lot of things you don't do that often" she said, peeking her eyes open at him to see his reaction.

He was looking longingly at her, running his thumb over the hand he was holding as he continued to dance slowly with her. "I won't argue that" he said quietly. Elegantly, he unwrapped himself from Elena and spun her away from him before bringing her back in.

"You're really good at this" Elena laughed lightly, smiling up at him. "You've had practice I'm sure" she added.

Stefan laughed at her attempt to be somewhat jealous, yet somewhat cute at the same time. "We really are a jealous pair, aren't we?" he asked, continuing to move with her. Then he was quiet for a moment. "My mom taught me how to dance" he admitted, smiling somewhat sadly at the memory. "She used to tell me that every young man should know how to dance properly so he could dance with a young woman and impress her" he added.

Elena squeezed his hand with her hand as she looked up at him. "She's a smart woman" Elena said sincerely. "She did a wonderful job raising you. You're a pretty great guy" she told him.

Stefan smiled at Elena's comment. His mother truly was the smartest person he knew. "Thank you" he said politely. His mother was not the easiest person to talk about anymore, but talking about her in such a positive light was refreshing.

"You know what I was thinking?" Elena asked.

"Hmm?" Stefan asked, kissing her forehead softly as he continued to dance with her.

"Maybe I could have some closet space to keep some of my work outfits, for when I stay over" she said, remembering that they had discussed this topic before.

"Yeah?" he asked, not being to help the smile that broke out on his face.

"Yeah" Elena smiled. "Think you have some room in there with all of your suits?" she asked.

"I'll throw half of them away if I have to" he informed her. His hand on her back slowly moved down, running over her backside and resting there. "You in the mood for a shower?" he asked, barely able to contain his excitement as he smiled down at her.

"I could go for a shower" she answered, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him playfully. Because she felt pretty damn happy right then.

"Good answer" he said against her lips, beginning to walk backwards and pulling her with him.

When they made it to his bedroom, he was already unzipping the back of her dress. Elena stepped back, allowing Stefan to push the straps off of her shoulders and watching as the dress fell down her body, pooling at her feet. She stepped out of it, grinning as she walked towards him, ready to get him undressed too. She reached for his jacket, pushing it off of his shoulders. He couldn't help but notice the glimmer in her eye, like she was ready to pounce on him. "Have I ever told you how much I love seeing you in a tie?" she asked, grabbing onto it. "You should wear them more often" she said with a bit of a seductive tone that could have had him doing anything she asked right then and there.

"I will wear them more often if it will lead to you wanting to rip my clothes off and have sex with me" he told her. He was dead serious.

Elena smirked as she worked the tie off slowly before moving her hands to undo a few of the top buttons on his shirt. She leaned in and kissed his chest. "How much do you like this shirt?" she asked, looking up at him innocently.

Stefan shrugged. "It's okay" he said. Elena smiled before grabbing the two sides of his shirt and pulling hard, ripping the remaining buttons off and exposing his entire bare chest. Stefan stood there in almost disbelief. "That was incredibly hot" he finally said, a little thrown off by her sudden dominance. Then he remembered that she could quite well be that way when she wanted to. And he sure as hell didn't mind it.

Elena smiled as she played with the open ends of his shirt. "I've always wanted to do that" she told him.

"Hell, I've got a whole drawer full of shirts you can rip if that puts you in the mood" he told her, glancing over at his dresser.

Elena pushed Stefan backwards towards the open bathroom door, slamming him against it and kissing him hard. Her hands eagerly worked on his belt, undoing it and then working on getting his pants off too. She was successful, all the while never taking her lips off of his. When Stefan stepped out of his pants and got rid of his shirt, he grabbed onto her, practically dragging her into the bathroom with him.

Stefan wasted no time lifting Elena up onto the bathroom counter. He leaned forward, kissing her on her shoulder and holding onto her hips to make sure she wasn't going anywhere. "Stefan" she whined, not appreciating how slow he was taking this. He could slowly kiss her later all he wanted. When his teeth scraped against her collarbone, her hands left their grip on his hair and flung sideways, knocking various bathroom items off of the counter. They rattled their way onto the floor, but neither of them seemed to notice or care. Elena was desperately trying to find something to hold onto as she gripped marble countertop unsuccessfully. "Please … Stefan" she stuttered helplessly, closing her eyes as his mouth continued to torture her skin. Not even the cold marble countertop could offer her any relief from how hot she felt.

Stefan paid no mind to her pleas though. He had an agenda and he was going to stick to it. His lips left her collarbone and trailed their way up to her lips, needing to kiss her rough and passionately for about a minute before his focus turned towards her neck. Elena slowly titled her head to the side and closed her eyes again, allowing him to torture her a little more. She was almost becoming used to it though, until his hand found its way between her legs.

Elena nearly jumped off of the countertop, but he had an arm around her, keeping her where she was. When he was sure she had calmed down enough to stay put, he loosened his arm around her and leaned in against her, resting his head against her shoulder. His free hand made quick work on ridding her of her panties. He smiled as he listened to her breathing become erratic. He had no intention of removing his hand from between her legs. He just couldn't tell if she was going to remove it for him or let him bring her over the edge. "You can tell me to stop, and I will" he whispered, loving the fact that he could do this to her. Drive her completely crazy.

Elena's eyes were screwed shut tight as she began to mentally battle with herself over whether or not she would let Stefan finish pleasuring her on his bathroom countertop or whether she should regain control of the situation and move things along to the shower. But every time she felt his hand down there, she completely forgot what she was trying to decide in the first place. "I … hate … you" she breathed out, knowing full well that he was enjoying every moment of this.

Stefan smiled against her shoulder. "No you don't" he told her, leaning against her just enough to make her lean back on the counter. His toothbrush holder along with his toothbrush tipped over and rolled onto the floor. It hit the floor with a crash and the ceramic material broke apart. As long as no one stepped on it and cut their foot, he really didn't give a damn about it. Not when he had Elena right where he wanted her. He continued to tease her, leaning over her and kissing down her chest.

"Yes I … do" she said, fighting to keep her self-control that was slowly slipping away from her.

Stefan laughed at her. She was being stubborn, and he loved it. "I can stay here like this, doing this, all night long Elena" he told her, increasing the pressure he was using to tease her. He could tell she was about ready to lose it. "Your call" he added. He kneeled down on the floor and pressed a soft kiss against the inside of her thigh. Then, he ran his tongue downward along the inside of her leg towards the back of her knee, nipping at the sensitive skin there.

And that did it. She was gone. She was deathly gripping the edge of the countertop as she cried out, cursing him three times as she gave in to the pleasure. It wasn't fair, the things that he could do to her so effortlessly.

Her legs finally went limp after a minute or two. Stefan stood back up, removed his hand, and was looking at what he had done to the beautiful girl he had splayed about on top of his bathroom counter. Her chest was heaving and her eyes were still shut. But she had a satisfied smile on her face and he couldn't help but grin. Because he had done that. "Still hate me?" he asked, leaning down and placing light kisses across her stomach.

"Uh huh" she mumbled. "In a good way" she added. She brought her hands up to her face, covering it. God, what he must have thought of her after that.

Stefan grabbed her hands and pulled her to sit back up. With one simple maneuver, he had her bra undone and on the floor. His briefs came down next as he grabbed her off of the counter.

She swung her legs around his waist and held onto him the best she could as he walked them towards the shower. When he turned on the water and was sure it was warm enough, he stepped inside with her and shut the door. Elena leaned back and let the water fall over her face, her hair and her back. She wiped away water from her eyes before smiling at him and leaning in to kiss him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, needing to bring him closer. When she broke the kiss, she pressed her nose against his and looked up into his eyes, smiling like she was truly happy. "I need you" she said quietly.

And her statement had more than one meaning. He knew it too. And in that moment, he grabbed onto her legs, readjusting her and entering her slowly, taking his time as he held her close. Stefan rested his forehead against hers. "You've got me" he said, just as quietly as she had. And his statement had more than one meaning too.

Elena's smile disappeared as she looked at him. She was pretty sure he understood her in ways that the others hadn't. And without any further hesitation, she leaned in and kissed him softly again. Stefan stepped forward, bringing them under the water.

One arm was wrapped around her, holding her against him. The other was pressed firmly against the shower wall, giving him just the right amount of leverage he needed to move against her hips slowly.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena smiled every time Stefan made eye-contact with her that morning. Whether they were at their desks or in a meeting, she couldn't help it. He knew that she had been thinking about their time in the bathroom the night before. Not just thinking about the three mind-blowing orgasms he had given her either. But about their moment in the shower where they really seemed to have connected on a whole other level.

Like maybe things were actually starting to get serious between them.

Breakfast had been a disaster that morning though. He had planned on making her a big breakfast and bringing it to her in bed.

He never actually ever made it out of bed though, because he was too busy getting himself tangled up with her and the sheets. Then it was a mad rush to get dressed and out the door to work. She wasn't complaining though.

As Elena was standing in their office facing the window, Stefan snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. He breathed her in, loving the fact that her hair smelled like his shampoo. "Your hair smells like mine" he said coyly.

Elena blushed. "It does, huh?" she asked.

"Mmm hmm" Stefan replied. "Because you used my shampoo last night" he reminded. Then he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "While we were doing naughty things in my bathroom."

And just the tone of his voice alone had her on alert. "I think I owe you a new toothbrush holder" she smiled, playing along with him.

Stefan did a small sexy growl in her ear at just the thought of what was going on when his toothbrush holder fell off the counter and broke. "I can think of other ways you can repay me" he grinned, running his hands over the front of her stomach. "Later though" he said, kissing the side of her cheek and stepping away from her. Elena turned around, both annoyed and relieved that he had decided to drop the sexual tension so fast. "Care to join me for lunch?" he asked, sitting down in his chair.

Elena shook her head no though. "Can't. I already have plans" she told him.

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "With who?" he asked, being nosy and not caring.

"With me" Bonnie piped in, popping her head into their office. "Ready?" she asked.

Elena nodded, grabbing her purse and slinging it over her shoulder. "I'll be back in an hour" she told Stefan, leaning down and kissing him quickly on the cheek.

Stefan grabbed her hand and stopped her from leaving. She looked at him curiously, wondering what he was waiting for. Then he broke out into a smile. "Have fun" he said, giving her hand a small squeeze before letting it go. Elena smiled at him before following Bonnie out. Stefan continued to smile as he tapped a pen on his desk. He was happy that Elena was spending time with Bonnie. Bonnie was a good friend and from what Stefan could tell, Elena really didn't have anyone to spend time with.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So" Bonnie said as she sat across from Elena. "How are things with you and Stefan going?" she asked.

Elena laughed. "You're just going to dive right in with the questioning aren't you?" she asked.

Bonnie blushed slightly. "Sorry" she apologized. "I've just never seen Stefan this happy before. I guess I wanted to make sure you felt the same" she explained.

Elena could accept that. "I do feel the same" she admitted, stirring the straw in her water. "He's loving, caring, and so much fun to be around" she said, smiling.

"And the sex?" Bonnie asked, coming right out and asking it. Elena felt her cheeks turn red. "Don't be embarrassed. Anything we say stays between us girls" she added.

Elena laughed, then sighed. "The sex is amazing" she said honestly. "He just … he wants it all the time" Elena admitted before laughing when she saw Bonnie grinning like she knew.

"I think that is a Salvatore thing" Bonnie said, picking up her glass of water and taking a sip. "Damon would have us having sex five times a day if he could" Bonnie stated, leaning back in her chair. "You have to learn to use redirection, Elena" she explained like she was a pro. Elena covered her face, clearly embarrassed, but she couldn't help but laugh at Bonnie. "They are like toddlers. They have their minds set on something and they want it. So, it is our job to redirect them and focus their attention on something else."

"Should I be afraid to ask for an example?" Elena asked hesitantly.

Bonnie laughed with Elena. "No. When Damon wants sex, and I don't, I simply offer to start with a back rub first. After 15 minutes of rubbing his back, he's sound asleep" she told Elena. "Redirection" she repeated proudly.

"Wow" Elena said, somewhat impressed. "Well, Stefan and I are currently in that phase where we can't keep our hands off of each other" she admitted. This only seemed to make Bonnie smile even more. "So him wanting sex all the time isn't the issue."

Bonnie frowned. "Uh oh. What's he doing?" Bonnie asked, picking up on Elena's hint that something was bothering her.

Elena shrugged as if to say it was no big deal really. "I mean, the other night, he got kind of … possessive at the gala when he saw this guy hitting on me" Elena said.

"Ah" Bonnie said, as if she already knew. "Yeah, he can get a bit jealous" she stated. "You just have to put him in his place and tell him to knock it off. If he knows his jealously bothers you, he'll tone it down" she explained.

"Well, that's just it. I tried to tell him he was out of line, and then he tried to make me forget about being mad at him by kissing me and being all … sexy and stuff" Elena said. She saw Bonnie giving her a disapproving look.

"You fell for his charm" Bonnie said, shaking her head. "Something you should know about Stefan is that he cannot stand it when you are mad at him" she informed. Elena looked at her curiously. "He is a total pleaser and when he knows you're not happy with him, he will go out of him way to get back in your good graces again. Whether that is buying you something pretty or using sex to make you forget why you were mad in the first place."

"Why is he so obsessed with not wanting me to be mad at him?" Elena asked.

Bonnie sighed. "I'm probably not the one who should be telling you this, but Damon and Stefan's father wasn't the nicest guy around. Damon has never gone into detail, but from what I gather, he got a little physical when punishing the boys when they were kids. He was always mad at them for one reason or another. And Stefan's sensitive. I think it really affected him" she explained. "Anyway, that's just my thought on it" she sighed.

"And the jealously?" Elena asked.

"Well, every girl he's ever been with has left him" Bonnie answered. "Katherine being the most recent. There were others before her though. You know, the type to use him and when they got bored, they'd move on" she explained.

"That's horrible" Elena said. It hurt to think that those other girls would hurt Stefan like that.

"Yeah" Bonnie agreed. "But now, he's got more money and a lot more power within the company. He's more confident" she told Elena. "So, don't mistake his hurt and fear for possessiveness" Bonnie said softly. "He just doesn't want to get hurt again."

Elena nodded. It all made a little more sense now. "I won't" she promised, smiling at Bonnie.

"That still doesn't mean he should get away with it though" Bonnie told her sternly. "Don't let him charm his way out of things when you're mad at him. He needs to understand that he was wrong and to accept that" she added.

Elena smiled softly again. "You're good at this. You ever think about becoming a therapist?" Elena asked.

Bonnie grinned. "I can't" she answered. "I hit people with brooms or throw things at them when they make bad choices" she said, thinking back to the last time she whacked Damon. "I think there's an ethical guideline somewhere that frowns upon that."

Elena was all smiles. "I can see why Stefan loves you so much" Elena said, getting up and telling Bonnie that she was going to the restroom.

Bonnie sat back and smiled as she watched Elena disappear. "I can see why he's in love with you" she smiled, knowing Elena couldn't hear her, but also knowing that Elena needed to hear it from Stefan.

**A/N: I need a Bonnie in my life :D**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Yeah, this chapter is a little sexy. Not so much so that it would need an M rating I don't think. Just be warned. Stefan is a sex God.**

**Thank you all for your patience! The next update will finally be Stefan meeting Jenna and Jeremy. Yay!**

**Feedback is always great, either on here or on Twitter :D**

Elena relaxed against Stefan as they lay down on the couch together, watching some movie that was playing on T.V. Stefan seemed to be interested in it, but Elena had other things on her mind. They were leaving for Virginia in a week for Thanksgiving. Her aunt, while interested in meeting Stefan, still believed that it would be best for Elena to be on her own for a while. Elena just hoped that things would go really well.

Stefan arm was around her, holding her close. Elena grabbed his hand in hers and began threading her fingers through his. He looked down at her, smiled and kissed the top of her head before going back to watching the movie.

The other thing that had been on her mind all week was her conversation that she had had with Bonnie. The one about Stefan's jealousy and his need to please people and keep them happy. Elena wondered how many other girls there were besides Katherine who had used him and then left him. "Hey Stefan?" she asked quietly, leaning her head against him.

"What's on your mind, Miss Gilbert?" he asked, squeezing her hand.

"How many girls have you been with?" she asked, staring at the T.V. and a bit surprised at how easily she had been able to ask that question.

Stefan smiled, wondering when this day would come where she would ask about his past relationships. He picked up the remote and switched the T.V. off. "Have you been talking with Bonnie?" he asked, turning his body slightly so he could look at her.

Elena looked up and him and shrugged. "She might have mentioned something" Elena said.

"Like what?" he asked.

Elena shook her head. "Never mind. Let's just go to bed" she said, moving away from him to try and get up.

"Uh uh no" Stefan said, wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her back. "What did Bonnie say that has you so curious?" he asked, tilting her chin up so she would look at him.

Elena sighed. "She might have mentioned that there were other girls who had, you know, used you and left you" she said, not knowing how to put it any gentler for him.

"Ah" Stefan said, leaning back in the couch. "Okay" he said, taking a big breath.

"You're going to tell me?" she asked, somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected him to.

Stefan smiled. "Well yeah" he told her. "You asked and you want to know, so I see no reason why I shouldn't tell you" he said. Elena looked at him curiously. "You know about Katherine" he said, smiling as he did. "We met while she was here in Seattle visiting. She decided to stick around and that's how we ended up dating. I knew how invested she was in starting her own business and how much she wanted to move to New York" he explained. "I guess I had just hoped that she would want to pick me instead. You know, start her fashion business here in Seattle."

"Were you happy with her those few months you dated?" Elena asked.

Stefan nodded. "She was fun and could always make me smile" he told Elena truthfully. "But she was also very spoiled and entitled and self-centered. And she didn't like to talk about anything that needed talking about" he added.

"I see" Elena said, not really knowing what else to say. On the one hand, he really seemed to like Katherine. On the other hand, there were a lot of things he didn't like about their relationship when they had been together.

Stefan noticed right away that Elena was thinking about his relationship with Katherine. He could tell by the look in her eyes. "You though" Stefan smiled, leaning in closer to her. "Make me happier than she ever did" he said softly, kissing her lips gently.

"What about the others?" Elena asked, opening her eyes slowly as the kiss ended.

Stefan hugged her close, settling back down into the couch and wrapping his arms around her. "Rebekah was the first girl I really fell for" he began, remembering back to his relationship with her. "We dated the first year I was in college. We went to all the parties together and spent a lot of nights … studying" he said with a small smirk. Elena rolled her eyes at him and he knew, even though he couldn't see. "I really think she just wanted me at her side for all those social functions. But she found a younger guy the next year and broke it off with me. Via text message, might I add."

"That's horrible" Elena said, running her hand over his chest lightly.

"I got over it eventually" he told her. "Meredith was next. She was going Pre-Med and ended up cheating on me with a classmate a year into our relationship." Elena was starting to wonder what was wrong with all of these girls he was dating. "Then there was Sage when I started my graduate program. We dated for two years and then she decided she didn't want to be in a relationship. We even lived together for a while."

"They're crazy, you know" Elena said, sitting up some so she could see his face. "But I can't say I'm sad about them leaving you" she said, allowing herself to smile. "Because now I get to be with you" she said, kissing the corner of his lips playfully.

"This is true" Stefan agreed, placing his hands on her hips as she continued to kiss him everywhere but where he wanted her to.

"I am sorry they hurt you" she said, resting her forehead against him. "But I'm smarter than all of them. So, worrying that I'm going to leave or getting jealous every time you see me with some other guy isn't going to work for me" she told him, running her fingers along his face.

Stefan looked at her cautiously. "You might get tired of me too" he told her. All the others had.

But Elena shook her head slowly as she smiled at him. "I really, really, really, really like you Stefan" she said. "I can't see myself getting tired of you. So stop worrying about it. And that's an order" she told him as sternly as she could.

Stefan gave her a small smile. "Yes ma'am" he replied. And although he was still worried about it, hearing Elena tell him that she wasn't planning on leaving was comforting. None of the others had ever told him that.

Elena laughed at his attempt to be so formal. "Do you want to finish watching that movie?" she asked.

Stefan shook his head no. "I want to know how many you've been with" he told her. He heard Elena groan in her attempt to avoid him. "Now come on now. Fair is fair" he reminded her.

"Fine" Elena told him. "Matt and Gregory" she stated quickly. "Matt in High School and Gregory when I helped him build his company."

"What, no details?" he asked, grinning because he could tell she was uncomfortable talking about this with him.

Elena sighed. "Matt was a really great guy" she told him. "But I had big dreams of moving to the city and running a large company. Matt. He was happy staying in our small town and working in a restaurant. So we went our separate ways" she explained. She really had no hard feelings towards him.

"He treated you okay?" Stefan asked, placing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Elena nodded with a small smile. "He was very kind and caring. We're still friends" she told him. "And you know all there is to know about Gregory."

"Was he always such a dumbass?" Stefan asked, rubbing her back lightly now.

Elena smiled at his choice of words. "No. He wasn't so bad in the beginning" she told him. "I think the money and the power got to his head" she explained. "But, he never made me feel as special as you do." It was a nice feeling, knowing that someone wanted you.

"I make you feel special?" he smiled. That definitely made him feel good.

"Yep" she told him. "It's nice being with someone who wants to spend time with you and who shows you affection" she told him, her voice slightly hinting at the fact that Gregory hadn't shown her any of that.

"Well, I definitely love spending time with you" he told her, running his hands down her back slowly. "And as for showing you affection …" he said, smiling as his eyes lit up. He leaned back even more, pulling her along with him. She laughed softly, resting on top of him with her head against his shoulder. "Well, that's easy" he whispered, letting his hands snake their way up under the back of her shirt. He rubbed small circles on her back, enjoying having her so close to him.

Elena felt her eyes close on their own as she gave in to his massage. "That feels really good" Elena whispered, sighing as she relaxed against him. "Did you want to go to bed?" she mumbled quietly.

Stefan smiled, but continued rubbing her back. "No. Let's stay right here for a while" he whispered, kissing the top of her head softly. Going to bed with Elena typically meant sex. But sometimes, all he needed was to have her close.

He wasn't sure how long they were planning on staying there, until he heard Elena breathing softly and knew she was asleep. All he could do was smile, because all he ever wanted was a moment like he was having with her right then. Like the moments he had been having with her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The week had flown by and Elena could hardly believe that she was sitting on an airplane heading for Virginia. She and Stefan had put in almost double their hours that week to make up for not being available to work the upcoming week. It was worth it though.

They were about two hours from landing and Stefan had gotten up and walked towards the back of the plane. Elena read some of her book while he was gone. Because when he was sitting next to her, she couldn't concentrate because he was trying to get her attention every five seconds. Sometimes he was trying to kiss her and other times, he was rubbing the inside of her thigh, trying to drive her crazy. Then sometimes he was telling her facts about airplanes.

When he did sit back down next to her, he had the biggest smile on his face. "Dare I ask?" Elena said, setting her tablet down.

"I paid a little visit to the bathrooms and good news. They are definitely big enough for two people" he grinned.

"You are unbelievable" Elena told him, picking her tablet back up. "If you think you're going to get me to have sex with you in a bathroom …" she trailed off, in disbelief.

Stefan scoffed. "If I remember correctly, you wanted to have sex with me when we first met in the restaurant bathroom" he reminded.

Elena's cheeks flushed slightly. Yes, yes she had wanted to. So she wouldn't deny it. "That bathroom was in an upscale kind of restaurant where they clean every half hour. God knows when the last time this airplane bathroom has been cleaned" she told him.

"Elenaaaaaaaaaa" he whined, leaning towards her. "This will be the last chance I get to sleep with you for a week" he said desperately.

Elena rolled her eyes. "You don't know that" she told him.

"I do too" he told her. "It would be very disrespectful to try and sleep with you in your family's home" he pointed out.

"Oh what a gentleman you truly are" she said, making fun of him. "I agree. The only way for you to be honorable is to have sex with me in a dirty airplane bathroom instead of my childhood home" she said, laughing.

Stefan didn't find it funny. "Is my impending death funny to you?" he asked with a completely straight face.

Elena patted his knee with one hand and wiped at tears with the other from laughing so hard. He was killing her, if anything. "You think not having sex for five days is going to kill you?" Elena asked quietly as she continued laughing so much that she literally was crying. Stefan glared at her before turning to face forward and ignoring her. He listened to her laughing subside. "Aww, Stefan" Elena said, placing her hand on his chest and leaning in to kiss his cheek. She grabbed her blanket and spread it over the two of them. "Stop pouting" she told him. He crossed his arms and continued looking straight ahead. "Are you really going to ignore me for the rest of the flight?" she asked, running her hand over his leg under the blanket. She inched her hand upwards and watched him squirm. Elena leaned towards him again and buried her face against his neck. "Because we both know you can't do that" she pointed out.

Stefan couldn't help but smile as he groaned. He grabbed her wandering hand and then pulled the blanket over them both, planning on having a nice make-out session with touching under the blanket.

Before Elena could laugh again at him, he had his lips pressed against hers, rolling half of his body on top of hers. All he wanted to do was touch every inch of her skin. He was obsessed with her. In the best way possible.

After about ten minutes of kissing and touching, Elena hit her breaking point. "Screw it" Elena breathed out when his lips left hers and were sucking lightly against her earlobe. "You. Me. Bathroom. Now" she said through her labored breaths.

Stefan smiled triumphantly, always happy to get his way. "You go first. I'll follow in a few minutes" he said, taking the blanket off of them and tossing it aside.

Elena grinned as she stood up and smoothed her shirt out. Stefan let his eyes wander the length of her body, reminding himself just how lucky he was about to be. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled as she moved past him, letting her legs brush against his as she passed by.

Stefan watched her disappear toward the back of the plane as he gripped the armrests tightly. He told himself to count to 20 before getting up and joining her in the bathroom. "Eleven, twelve …" he continued to count. "Fourteen … close enough" he said, standing up and trying to casually make his way to the back of the plane. He passed by quite a few people who were sleeping, reading, or watching a movie.

Stefan smiled when he reached the bathrooms, knocking on the first bathroom door. "Occupied!" he heard a man yell from inside.

Stefan backed away quickly and knocked on the next door. Thankfully, it opened quickly and Elena pulled him inside and locked the door behind him. She then grabbed his shirt, pulled him to her and kissed him passionately for a moment. "Hi" she whispered, looking into his eyes as he caught his breath.

"Hi" he said in that sexy voice that she loved. "We've probably got five minutes before they realize we're both gone" he said, tracing his finger down her arm.

"Five minutes?" she asked with a disappointed tone. At least fifteen would have been favorable.

"Oh, I'll make it the best five minutes of your life" he promised, moving fast to get his hands under the backs of her thighs and lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around him. The sexy little growl he let out combined with him whispering against her ear could have easily made her black out for a moment or two. "I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you right now" he whispered against her ear, undoing her jeans and skillfully working them down her hips just enough for what he needed. "I've been thinking about this all morning …" he trailed off, working on his own jeans.

Elena closed her eyes and sighed with a smile. She had to admit, this was exciting for her. Never in her life would she have even considered having sex on an airplane until Stefan had convinced her minutes earlier. "I'm waiting for you to make this the best five minutes of my life" she told him, threading her fingers through his hair.

The plane hit light turbulence and Stefan stumbled forward, crashing into her against the wall in the small bathroom. He pressed his hips into hers and Elena had to bite her lip to keep from making any noise. It was a real challenge though, because she loved letting Stefan know just how he was making her feel. His body was pressed against hers completely now as he breathed heavily against her ear. With how limited he was in their movements, he was hoping that the thrill of having sex on an airplane would make their time unforgettable. "Tell me what feels the best" he said, experimenting with different angles.

Everything he did felt really good. It always did, but when he shifted her hips just slightly upwards, her hands flew out of his hair and tried to grip the wall behind her. "Oh God, there Stefan. Right there" she cried out quietly, practically whimpering to keep her voice down.

Stefan prided himself for knowing her body all too well. "You have no idea how much I wish I could hear you scream right now" he said, grinning at the thought.

"You have no idea how much I want to" she countered, bringing her hands back to rest on his shoulders. A whole string of curse words ran through her mind, but she bit them back. "Every single time you touch me like this, I swear my body thinks it will explode" she said quietly, amazed at how he had gotten this reaction out of her in just under two minutes.

"God I love hearing that" he told her, pressing against her even more as he breathed hard against her ear.

A knock on the door confirmed his fear. They had run out of time. "I'll be out in a minute!" he yelled, feeling frustrated that he hadn't given her what he had promised yet. There was a second knock and Stefan groaned against Elena's shoulder.

"Stefan, please don't stop" she told him, grabbing his face in her hands and kissing him. A third knock came and Elena was sure their session would have to end.

"I made you a promise" he growled against her ear, allowing his tongue to then trace along her neck. "I hate that we have so little time together right now" he told her, squeezing her waist as he placed rough kisses against her skin.

"I do too" she panted, resting her head against his. "You feel so good …" she moaned. She rolled her hips against his, trying to speed up the process. Another knock was at the door and this time, Elena groaned in frustration. "I haven't finished yet!" Elena called out angrily, knowing her reply had a very different meaning for her than for the person on the other side of the door.

Stefan smiled against her cheek, glad to know that she was just as sexually frustrated as he was. "We have to hurry this up" he told her reluctantly.

Elena squeezed her legs around him just a little tighter. It changed their positions just enough to have the result she needed. "Yes, Stefan" she yelled silently. "Right there. I'm almost … Stefan … Stefan ..." she trailed off, knowing she was close. "YES!" she shouted, and he quickly covered her mouth with his hand to keep her quiet. A few more thrusts and he finished too, having more control to keep himself quiet. They were both breathing like they hadn't had air in minutes, which was probably true to some extent.

He sat down on the closed toilet lid and her legs dangled off to the side as her body fell limp against his. "Jesus Stefan" she said, completely satisfied with their little tryst in the bathroom. "You're so unbelievably good" she added.

Stefan chuckled against her shoulder as he gripped her hips. "I know" he said arrogantly. "But I'm even better when I'm with you" he added.

Elena lifted her head up off of him and smiled. "Nice save" she told him. Stefan brushed some hair out of her face and kissed her gently. "Now get out so I can freshen up" she said, getting up off of him and attempting to make herself not look like she just had mind-blowing sex with Stefan.

Stefan was all smiles as he stood up and fixed his pants. "You know we're doing this on the flight back, right?" he asked, slapping her ass before opening the door and letting himself out.

Elena locked the door behind him and looked at herself in the mirror. She had that "I just had really good sex look" she noticed. Her cheeks were pink, her hair was messy, and she had the silliest smile on her face. Who the hell would have thought she would have allowed herself to be ravished in an airplane bathroom? It was insane, what they had just done.

"Stefan Salvatore" she said quietly to herself. "What have you done to me?" she smiled.

When Elena left the bathroom, she used the backs of the airplane seats to keep her upright. Her legs were shaking so bad still that she didn't trust herself not to fall on her face. When she made it back to her seat, Stefan was grinning like a very satisfied boyfriend. He had to refrain from touching her as she slipped by and sat down.

The flight attendant walked by, then stopped and looked at both of them. She didn't look happy as she glared at the both of them and shook her head at them.

When she walked off finally, Stefan and Elena both laughed, feeling too good still to be embarrassed. Elena leaned her head against his shoulder and Stefan slipped his arm around her. "I don't regret it" Stefan stated, turning and kissing the top of her head.

Elena laughed again. "Me either" she told him. "Not one bit."

**A/N: If this happened on all flights I took, I'd stop complaining about flying. **


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: I hope this update, at some point, will make you laugh. **

**Thank you for reading :D**

Stefan couldn't help but notice that Elena was nervous as they drove to her family's house. At every stoplight, she was drumming her fingers on the steering wheel and then she was making small talk every chance she got. "We'll be there in about ten minutes" she said finally.

"Good" Stefan smiled, grabbing her right hand to hold. She looked over at him briefly with a small smile of her own. "I can't wait to meet them" he told her. Elena took a small breath and let it out slowly. She couldn't wait either, despite how incredibly nervous she was. "You never told me what Jenna does" he said, trying to ease her busy mind for a moment.

"She teaches psychology courses at a university in the city" Elena answered.

"Perfect" Stefan announced. "I love psychology" he told her.

Elena sighed. "She'll probably give you a mini mental status exam to make sure you're not crazy" Elena said, hinting at her distaste for anything psychology.

Stefan just smiled though, giving her hand a squeeze. "Luckily for you, you already know I'm crazy. So, there should be no surprises" he told her.

Elena smiled too, shaking her head and hoping that her aunt and brother could accept Stefan's humor the way she had. "Just behave yourself, please" she told him.

Stefan's jaw dropped in shock. "Elena Gilbert. When have I ever not behaved myself?" he asked, pretending to be offended.

"Gee, I don't know. How about the airplane bathroom?" she asked, shooting him a look.

Stefan sat back and shook his head no. "That was all you" he said, hearing her scoff in disbelief. "I was just trying to enjoy my flight to Virginia and this smoking hot girl next to me invited me to the bathroom and then had sex with me" he explained.

"I seem to remember you whining about dying if you didn't get to have sex" she reminded him. "Clearly, you are the sex addict" she added.

Stefan let go of her hand and rested his hand on her knee. "If thinking that helps you sleep at night, I'm okay with it" he told her, grinning at their choice of topic.

"I don't sleep" she mumbled, thinking of all the times Stefan kept her up. To be honest, telling Stefan no when he wanted sex was a lot easier than actually meaning it.

"You love when I keep you up with my bedroom skills" he told her. "And I know this because you scream unbelievably loud …" he began to explain, only to see her turn red from embarrassment.

"Oh my God Stefan" she said in disbelief. "We're like five minutes from my house. You have to stop thinking about our sex life, like, now" she told him. "Just erase it from your mind for the next five days."

Stefan laughed. "Yeah right. If I can't have sex with you, you better believe I'm going to be thinking about it" he told her, smiling at how uncomfortable she was now.

"I hate you" Elena said, though she was trying so hard not to smile.

Stefan leaned over and brushed his lips against her ear. "Not the feeling I got in the bathroom earlier" he whispered. "I'm pretty sure you really, really, loved me for those five minutes" he added.

Elena gripped the steering wheel tight. "I'm going to pretend that this conversation never happened" she said.

Stefan sat back and laughed. "You crack me up, Elena" he said, looking out the window at all of the colonial style homes. He could definitely picture Elena growing up there.

It wasn't long before Elena was pulling up along a curb and turning the rental car off. Stefan looked out to see a white house with a young woman standing on the porch. Elena was jumping out of the car and running towards the house before Stefan had taken his seatbelt off.

"Elena!" Jenna squealed, enveloping Elena in her arms and practically picking her up in a gigantic hug.

Stefan got out of the car and the door shutting seemed to get their attention. Elena let go of Jenna and smiled as she turned around to look at Stefan. He walked towards them, wearing his signature smile. "Aunt Jenna" Elena said, taking a small nervous breath before introducing him. "This is Stefan" she said.

"It is so nice to finally meet you" Stefan said, reaching his hand out to shake Jenna's.

Jenna shook his hand politely. "Nice to meet you Stefan" she said, letting go of his hand. "You two must be starving. I've got dinner ready" she said. With that, she wrapped her arm around Elena and led the way towards the house.

Stefan remained where he was, analyzing the situation. Jenna seemed pleasant, but he couldn't help but think that maybe Jenna had already made a judgment about him and that she had planned on sticking to it. Apparently he was going to have to work harder than he thought to make Elena's aunt understand how much he cared about Elena. Charm alone wasn't going to do it.

The door opened and closed again and a tall, younger guy with brown hair came walking out. "Jenna told me to come help with your bags" he said. He stopped and looked at Stefan for a second. "I'm Jeremy" he added.

"Elena's brother" Stefan said, smiling as Jeremy reached his hand out. Stefan shook his hand. "I'm Stefan."

"Her new boyfriend" Jeremy clarified. There was an awkward pause between the two for a minute as they tried to figure out who they were to each other and eliminate any threats. "Did you punch Gregory?" Jeremy asked finally.

Stefan grinned slightly. "I wanted to" Stefan answered.

Jeremy thought about his answer for a moment. "That's a shame. But I suppose it's the thought that counts" he said, smiling at Stefan. "You're all right" he said, slapping Stefan's shoulder as he walked towards the car. He popped the trunk and looked at what all would need to be brought in.

"Which ones are Elena's?" he asked.

"All of them" Stefan answered. Jeremy turned to look at him a bit confused. Stefan shrugged. "Elena didn't have enough room for all of her stuff, so I let her have my carry-on and my checked bag" he explained. "My stuff in stuffed into one of these" he added.

Jeremy did nothing but laugh as he took out two bags from the trunk of the car. "Yeah, you're whipped" Jeremy said, continuing to laugh as he walked towards the house with two of the bags.

Stefan stopped for a moment as the realization hit him. Yes. Yes he was whipped. Then again, it wasn't that bad. Especially when he thought about the plane ride there. Or all the nights he spent naked with her, while they enjoyed every inch of each other. Or the evenings they both cuddled until they fell asleep. Then there were all the conversations they had about random stuff on breaks. And the way she talked numbers to him made him think she quite possibly was the smartest person he knew. How excited he was every time he saw her, even if it had only been five minutes since he last saw her.

Yeah, he might have been whipped. But he was also in love.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Dinner was going smoothly and Elena and Jenna pretty much carried the conversation while Jeremy threw in a comment when he could. "Where's Alaric?" Elena finally asked. "I thought he was joining us" she added.

"Oh, he got stuck grading papers, but he'll stop by tomorrow" Jenna assured her. "So, tell me how this new job of yours is going" Jenna said, eyeing Stefan who was sitting across from her.

Elena smiled. "It is going super well. Our numbers are going up a little each day now and I see no reason why we won't be a top competitor by the New Year" Elena said proudly.

Jenna looked at Stefan again. "You must be really proud of the work you do" she said to Stefan, who had been unusually quiet Elena had noticed.

Stefan set his fork down and smiled softly at Jenna. "Elena deserves all of the credit" Stefan said. Then, he turned and smiled at Elena while grabbing her hand under the table. "She's brilliant and really the reason that the company is going to make a comeback" he added. "I just do what she tells me to do" he added, getting a laugh from everyone at the table.

"He's being modest" Elena said, turning back to everyone at the table. "Stefan is really great at handling the day-to-day finances of the company. I'm just there looking at a more long-term solution" she added.

"So, Stefan" Jenna said, directing her attention back to him. "Can I ask why you are not spending time with your own family for the holiday?" she asked. It was done so in a non-threatening way, but Stefan still couldn't help but feel like Jenna didn't approve of him.

Elena looked at Stefan, unsure if he felt comfortable telling anything about his family. Especially his mother. "My brother and his fiancé, Bonnie, went out of the country on vacation" he explained. "And my mother is in a psychiatric care live-in facility. I'm going to have dinner with her when I get back" he added nervously. He was always nervous to mention his mother, because when he tried to do it with the least amount of detail possible, people always wanted more information.

"I see" Jenna said, picking up on the fact that Stefan didn't want to talk much more about it.

"Is she crazy or something?" Jeremy asked with a mouthful of food.

"Jeremy!" Elena snapped, completely horrified that he would ask such a thing with Stefan right there.

Stefan just smiled though, squeezing Elena's hand under the table to reassure her. "I used to think so" Stefan told them. "But when I got older, I realized she was just really sick. So now, I just hope for the best and appreciate the happy times that I can spend with her" he added.

There was silence as everyone seemed to process that. "We had a crazy cousin named Samantha who ran around killing people in the 1800's" Jeremy announced.

Elena groaned, covering her face with her hand. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to murder you if you don't shut up" she said.

Stefan found it amusing though. Jeremy's innocent curiosity and how it bugged the hell out of Elena. "I'd love to hear more about your crazy cousin some time" he told Jeremy. "I find psychology fascinating" he added. Then, he looked over at Jenna who seemed intrigued by the mention of psychology.

"So" Jenna said, figuring it was time to change the subject. "It's getting late. Should we get you two settled in?" she asked, standing to clear their plates. Elena helped too, after shooing Stefan away who was actively trying to help.

Stefan stood there awkwardly since Jeremy had left the room. It must have been five minutes before Jenna and Elena returned. "I made up the guest bedroom for Stefan" Jenna announced.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Stefan and I can share my room, Jenna" she said. "We're both adults" she reminded.

Jenna looked conflicted about arguing with Elena so Stefan jumped in fairly quickly. "The guest room sounds perfect" he said, getting a raised eyebrow from Elena who had crossed her arms.

"Do you make Alaric sleep on the couch when he comes over?" Elena asked defensively.

"Yep. They do it on the couch" Jeremy piped in from the living room.

Elena grinned and Jenna looked horrified. Elena loved her brother, most of the time. "Whatever" Elena finally said. "Come on Stefan. I'll show you to your room" she added, walking out of the room.

Stefan didn't dare look at Jenna as he left. He just followed Elena up the stairs quietly. "She's being unreasonable" Elena told him once they reached the upstairs. "I'm sorry. She'll loosen up, I promise" Elena said, turning around and reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"It's okay" Stefan assured her, brushing her hair out of her eyes and smiling at her. He understood Jenna's caution. She was the parental figure now, and she had every right to not trust someone she only just met. "Jeremy seems to like me" Stefan offered.

Elena put her arms around him and smiled. "Not to burst your bubble, but Jeremy likes most people" she told him.

Stefan grinned. "Not Gregory" he pointed out happily.

Elena rolled her eyes and pulled away from him, though she took his hand to lead him down the hall. "This is the guest room" Elena said, walking in with him. "There's extra blankets in the closet, as well as towels if you want to shower."

"I think I have everything I need" Stefan told her, figuring he probably would take that shower.

"Okay. Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning" she said, waiting expectantly for her goodnight kiss, which he gave her.

"Goodnight" he said, reluctantly letting her go. He watched her slip out of the room before he sat down on the bed and sighed. Maybe coming there so soon was a mistake.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan had tossed and turned for a few hours, not used to the new bed he was in. And when the bedroom door creaked open just after midnight, he feared that the place might be haunted as well.

Thankfully though, it was just Elena, sneaking into his room to see him. "Hi" she whispered, pulling the covers back and slipping in next to him. She kissed him softly before burying her face into his neck and sighing.

While Stefan loved the fact that Elena was with him again, he still couldn't help but think about Jenna wanting them to sleep in separate beds. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea" Stefan whispered, afraid they might wake Jenna up.

Elena simply smiled, placing her warm lips against his neck and running her hand down his bare chest. He tensed immediately, but Elena behaved herself. "Are you afraid Jenna is going to catch us?" she teased. Stefan didn't find it funny though. He found it scary actually. "Relax Stefan. I'll sneak back out before she gets up" Elena assured him. "I just couldn't sleep without you next to me" she said, realizing that for the past week, they had spent every night together. It was weird to not have him in bed next to her.

Some of Stefan's fear eased when he heard her say that. "I couldn't either" he whispered, rubbing her back softly.

Elena's body completely relaxed into him and she easily could have gone back to sleep right then. "Jeremy, you, and I are going to the market in the morning to get fresh fruit for breakfast" Elena told him. "We can show you around town" she added.

"That sounds like a plan" Stefan told her quietly. "I could just take you all out to breakfast" he offered, hoping that maybe being out of the house would provide some neutral ground for him to gain with Jenna.

Elena pulled away from him and he could tell that she was smiling. "You're our guest. You don't get to pay for things while you're here" Elena told him. "Besides, Jenna makes a really great breakfast" she added.

"Better than my breakfasts?" Stefan asked, playing with a strand of her hair.

Elena laughed quietly. "That's debatable. And not really fair to ask seeing as how your breakfasts usually include sex" she reminded him.

"My off the menu special" he said, smiling finally.

Elena leaned in and kissed him slowly for a moment, needing him to feel more at home in her house. She loved his off the menu specials. "I promise you, Jenna will come around" Elena told him, knowing it was still on his mind. "Just be honest with her. She'll love you for it" Elena added.

"I can be honest" he said, playing with her hair again. He watched Elena yawn before pulling her close to him again. "Get some sleep" he whispered, kissing her head softly.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan reached for his jacket as Jeremy and Elena put their shoes on, ready to head to the market to get the fruit. Stefan glanced into the kitchen and saw that Jenna was by herself, preparing such a big meal for them all. Then an idea hit him.

Jenna turned around when she saw Stefan come into the kitchen. She was dressed in an apron and was stirring waffle batter. "I thought you were going into town with Elena and Jeremy?" she asked, a bit surprised to see him still there.

Stefan shrugged. "I think they need some time alone" he told her. "And I thought maybe you and I could get to know each other a little better" he added. Jenna looked at him hesitantly for a moment before nodding. "Can I help?" he asked, walking to the sink and beginning to wash his hands.

"Sure" Jenna said, handing him the waffle batter when he was done. She stood next to him and worked on the eggs.

They were silent for a moment before Stefan spoke up. "Can I ask you something?" he asked. "Why don't you want us to be together?" Stefan blurted out. It had been bugging the hell out of him since he gotten there.

Jenna stirred the eggs with a little more force now as she thought over his question. "It doesn't matter what I think" Jenna answered. "Elena is a grown woman. She gets to make her own decisions" she added.

"It does matter what you think" Stefan said, putting the waffle batter down. "Because I care about Elena very much. And I don't want there to be any tension between the two of us. It wouldn't be fair to Elena" he pointed out.

Jenna sighed and put the bowl of eggs down before turning and looking at him. "Look, Stefan. It's nothing against you. You seem like a decent guy" she told him. "But Elena just got out of a relationship, only to jump right back into another one with you" she stated. "I just don't want to see her become dependent on someone again so soon."

Stefan could understand her concern. "I get it" Stefan told her. "You're right. Elena and I got together right after her breakup with Gregory" he agreed. "But Elena is not dependent on me" he told her. Well, maybe for sex, but Stefan wasn't going to share that. "I'm not holding her back, if that's what you think" Stefan said. If anything, Stefan thought he was dependent on Elena.

"I don't know what to think anymore, Stefan" Jenna said, and she sounded like she was on the verge of getting upset. "I watched that ass hat promise her a future, only to see him use her and break her heart" she announced. "I get why Elena wants to be in a relationship. She needs stability and security, and I know losing her parents has a lot to do with that" she explained.

"I watched him hurt her too" Stefan said, looking at Jenna sincerely. "For months, I watched him belittle her and ignore her, and all I kept telling myself was, if I have her in my life, I'd never do any of that to her. I'd appreciate her and respect her and …" he said, only to be cut off by Jenna.

"Do you love her?" Jenna asked abruptly, needing to ask that after hearing him talk about all the things he was going to do for Elena.

Stefan paused for a moment as he thought best on how to answer her. But it was easy, really. "I think Elena should be the first to hear the answer to that question" Stefan smiled, seeing her expressions instantly soften. "So please, give Elena and I a chance" Stefan added, turning back to the waffle maker to get the next one ready.

Jenna continued to stare at him, speechless, for quite some time as she watched him finish with the breakfast. "If you had to guess …. When might you think you were going to tell her that you … you know … love her?" Jenna asked, trying not to sound nosy but needing to have some sort of idea for her own sanity.

Stefan smiled. "When the time is right" he answered. "Can you pass the butter?" he asked.

Jenna accepted his answer. For now. "Elena never told me how you two met" she said.

Stefan noticed that Jenna had definitely softened up towards him. It wasn't so uncomfortable to be standing next to her anymore. "Well" Stefan said, adding another waffle to the plate. "Gregory sent Elena and my brother sent me to have dinner and try and get information out of one another" he told her. "I had been dreading the dinner, but as soon as I saw Elena, I thought she was something else" he said. Jenna smiled. "Yes, she's beautiful. But when I realized how intelligent and competitive she was, I was instantly drawn to her" Stefan said.

Jenna actually laughed at this. "I thought her competiveness was a downfall for her" Jenna mentioned.

"No, not for me" Stefan told her. "Elena challenges me in ways that no one else has. I love it" he smiled.

"You talk very fondly of her" Jenna said, grabbing two bowls to set out on the table. "I'll give you one point for that" Jenna said.

"I get points?" Stefan asked.

"Oh yes" Jenna informed him. "I came up with a point system when I took over as their legal guardian. How many points you get is associated with how much I like you" she announced.

"I see" Stefan said. "How many points to do I need for you to completely like me?" he asked.

"Sixteen" Jenna answered, adding more things to the table.

"And how many total points do I have now?" Stefan asked.

"Two" Jenna answered. He raised an eyebrow at her, prompting her to explain. "One for talking fondly of Elena" she reminded. "And one for taking your shoes off when you came in last night" she added.

Stefan smiled and followed her out of the kitchen with the waffles to help set the table. "Any chance I could get to 16 before I leave in four days?" he asked.

"Anything is possible Stefan" Jenna told him, walking back into the kitchen.

Stefan continued to smile as he felt the relief wash over him. Jenna liked him a little bit.

"Oh my God!" Jenna yelled from the kitchen, causing Stefan to run back in there. "Spider!" she shrieked, pointing at the spider running across the countertop. A pretty good-sized fuzzy black one the run.

Stefan grabbed a paper towel and smashed it dead before tossing it in the garbage. "He's gone" he said, turning to look at Jenna who was pale white and about ready to pass out.

Jenna swallowed slowly and tried to catch her breath. She hated spiders with a passion. "Okay. You just earned five points" she said, sitting down slowly.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked, unsure of what to do.

But Jenna waved him off. "I'm fine. It's just, usually Alaric is here in the mornings to do a sweep of the house to make sure there are no spiders" she explained.

"I can go and do that" Stefan offered, still worried for Jenna.

"No, no. Really, I'm fine. Just give me a few minutes to relax" she told him. "Thank you Stefan" she told him. "Really, I'm not usually this weird or anything" she added.

Stefan smiled. "It's okay, I'm used to it" he told her. "My brother screams louder than you just did when he sees one" Stefan said, taking the rest of the dishes to the table.

"I don't know whether to share your brother's pain or laugh" Jenna called out.

"Always easier to laugh" Stefan replied, coming back in and helping to clean up. "You sure you don't need me to check the house?" Stefan asked.

"Maybe just the laundry room, because I'm about to go in there" Jenna told him.

Stefan smiled. "No problem" he said, leaving the kitchen in search of spiders in the laundry room.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Finally, it is here! Thank you for all the reviews. I have over 900 for this story. Wow. Truly amazing and I thank you all for your dedication to this story.**

**I hope you enjoy this update. **

"We're back" Elena called as soon as they walked inside the house. Stefan and Jenna both walked into the room and greeted them.

"Yeah, we bought the entire market" Jeremy said, handing a bag to Jenna. "Because she couldn't decide what she wanted" he added, a bit annoyed that she had dragged him all around the market for so long.

Elena glared at her brother and tried to swat him with her free hand, though he just dodged her and laughed.

Stefan took the other bag from Elena who eagerly followed behind him, curious to know how his time with Jenna went. "Stefan and I are going to go wash up real fast" Elena announced, grabbing Stefan's arm and walking with him through the living room and up the stairs.

Once they reached the top, she pushed Stefan into her room and shut her door. "So?" Elena asked. "How was it with you and Jenna?" she asked eagerly.

Stefan just smiled. "I think we're going to be okay" he told her. "Very obvious that she is protective over you though" he said, pointing his finger at Elena. "Though, I definitely don't blame her" he added.

Elena smirked. "You don't, huh?" she asked, stepping towards her bathroom door.

Stefan caught her though, pulling her close to him. "You're worth protecting" Stefan said quietly, leaning in and kissing her slowly. Elena pulled him backwards with her towards the open bathroom door. Stefan didn't hesitate to kick the door shut behind them. "We should get back downstairs … for breakfast" Stefan mumbled quietly against her eager lips.

"Mmm hmmm …" Elena replied, unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt. "Let's go" she told him, running her hands over his now exposed chest as her lips found his again. Stefan lifted her easily up onto the counter, continuing to kiss her.

"Elena!" they heard Jenna yell from downstairs.

"I can't stand this …" he groaned, hating that their make-out session was short-lived since they had breakfast waiting downstairs. He rested his forehead against hers and sighed.

Elena smiled, looking at him through her long eyelashes. "How about you and I go someplace on Friday - alone?" she suggested. And she had the perfect spot.

Stefan smiled, running his hand over her leg slowly. "I think that sounds like a great idea" he told her, kissing her. It was three days away, but he would survive knowing that he had alone time with her to look forward to.

Elena leaned back some and smiled as she went to work fixing the buttons on his shirt. "I'll be looking forward to it too" she told him, fixing the last button and leaning in to kiss him quickly before hopping off of the counter. She turned around and began washing her hands, feeling him stand right behind her and lean over her to do the same. He snuck in a few kisses on her neck, making her laugh.

By the time they had both returned downstairs, Alaric had already arrived and was sitting down with Jenna talking. "Ah, here they are" Jenna said, standing to introduce Stefan.

"Gee, I wonder what they were doing" Jeremy said sarcastically as he sipped his orange juice.

Jenna and Elena glared at Jeremy while Alaric laughed. Because after all, he was a guy and he understood. Alaric extended his hand to shake Stefan's. "I'm Alaric. You can call me Ric. I'm with that incredibly lucky lady over there" he said, winking at Jenna who blushed like a teenager.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Stefan and I'm the incredibly lucky one in my relationship" he said, smiling at Elena who also blushed liked a teenager.

"Nicely played" Alaric said, congratulating him. Then Alaric looked at Elena and raised his hand up to high five her. "You picked a good one it seems" he told her, keeping ahold of her hand and pulling her into a much anticipated hug. "It's so good to see you Elena" he said, hugging her tight before letting her go.

"I've missed you too" she said, smiling.

"Glad to hear it" Alaric said, pulling Elena's chair out for her. Stefan took the seat beside Elena while Alaric and Jenna sat across from them. "So what do you kids have planned for the rest of your time here?" he asked.

"Well, I thought that maybe Friday, I would show Stefan the lake house" Elena said, looking at Jenna to see how she would react.

Jenna was quiet for a moment before she answered. "I hear they have a lot of snow up there right now. You'd have to build a fire" she said.

Jeremy nearly spit out the piece of waffle he was eating. "Elena? Build a fire?" he asked while laughing. "That would be a sight to see" he said.

Elena kicked him from under the table. "I have Stefan" she said, easing her aunt's worries.

Jenna still looked worried. "Jenna, honey" Alaric said, reaching his hand over and grabbing Jenna's hand. "They'll be fine" he assured her, easing her worries. "And maybe you and I can spend a little quality time together, if you know what I mean" he smiled, hinting at what he wanted them to do together. Jenna blushed and Stefan and Elena shared a knowing look.

"Hello? What about me?" Jeremy said, disgusted with the fact that his aunt and her boyfriend were going to be spending "quality" time together while he was in the house.

"Would 20 bucks get you out of the house for the evening?" Alaric asked.

Jeremy shrugged. "Sure" he said. It would buy him dinner and a few rounds of pool at the Mystic Grill in town.

"Then it is settled" Alaric announced. "You two should probably take my vehicle up there though. Just in case the roads are bad" he added.

"Thanks" Elena said, looking at Stefan and barely being able to contain her excitement. "You're going to love it up there" Elena told him.

"Can't wait" Stefan replied, resisting the urge to lean over and kiss her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The rest of the day had gone smoothly. Stefan spent time with Jeremy outside fixing a motorcycle while Elena watched from the porch. Then he helped Jenna with lunch. It was nice, being able to spend time doing things as a family. He forgot how much he missed it.

Alaric walked into the living room to find Stefan looking at photos on the wall. Most of them were of Elena and Jeremy when they were younger. Though one in particular was of Elena in high school, wearing her cheerleading outfit. Stefan was pretty sure he would need to ask if she still had it, because he couldn't think of one reason as to why it would be inappropriate to ask her to wear it for him. "She was really good at cheerleading" Alaric said from behind Stefan. Stefan turned around to acknowledge him. "She's energetic and competitive. All things you need to cheer I suppose" he added.

"So how did you and Jenna meet?" Stefan asked, curious as to how Alaric came to play a role in Elena's life.

Alaric laughed slightly. "I was Elena's history teacher. And Jenna came in for a parent teacher conference. It was totally inappropriate, but after I told Jenna about Elena being busted for texting in class, I asked Jenna out for coffee" he explained. "Elena was furious. She hated the idea of her aunt dating her teacher" he said with a smile.

"She seems to like you now" Stefan pointed out.

Alaric nodded. "I've known that girl for almost ten years now. She means the world to Jenna. Both of those kids do" he said, coming to join Stefan in front of the photos. "So I guess I don't need to give you the whole "If you hurt her I'll kill you" speech" he added.

"No, you don't" Stefan told him.

They were silent for a moment before Alaric spoke up again. "You've got money, right Stefan?" he asked. Stefan turned to look at him curiously. "Because after I kill Gregory for what he did, I'll probably need a good lawyer" he added with a grin.

"Sure thing" Stefan smiled, already liking Alaric.

"There you two are" Elena said, coming down the stairs. "Jeremy wanted to know if we wanted to play a game of football before we go to bed?" she asked. "We'll turn the lights on out back. Could be fun" Elena smiled.

"Well you know I can't say no" Alaric said. "You in?" he asked Stefan.

"Sure" Stefan smiled. "I haven't played since high school though" he added, following them both out the back door.

Jeremy already had the whole backyard set up with random objects marking off the yard lines. He came running over when he saw Alaric, his sister and Stefan. "We'll play two on two. All regulation rules apply, except we can't tackle Elena. Two-hand touch for her. Any questions?" he asked. They all nodded. "Good. I call Stefan" Jeremy said, taking first pick.

"Alright, the old man and the girl it is" Alaric announced, wrapping is arm around Elena and leading her to center of the field. "We've got this Elena" he told her. They stood huddled together to come up with a strategy. "You cover Stefan. Find a way to distract him" Alaric told her. Elena smiled, thinking it was definitely too cold to lift her shirt up and flash Stefan as part of her distraction strategy. "I'll cover Jeremy. He's got a weak left knee from lacrosse practice last week. One swift kick and he'll go down" Alaric told her.

"Alaric!" she gasped. "You can't do that to Jeremy" she told him, shaking her head and laughing at how crazy Alaric actually was. "You get me the ball. I'll run it down the field" she told him.

Alaric nodded. "Okay" he said.

When they all gathered around to start the game, Jeremy decided that Alaric and Elena could start with the ball. Alaric passed if off to Elena and then blocked Jeremy. Elena started running, only to see Stefan waiting for her down towards the end zone. "Go ahead. Make a run for it" Stefan told her, stepping aside to give her a head start. They could hear Jeremy yelling at Stefan to tag her.

Elena eyed him closely, inching her way closer to the end zone marked off by lawn chairs. Then, she took off running, only to feel Stefan's hands grab her waist moments later, pulling her just out of reach from the goal. Before Elena knew what was happening, she was being slung over Stefan's shoulder with Stefan running down the other way towards his own end zone. She was alternating between screaming and laughing as he ran with her. "You're cheating!" she yelled. Both Elena and the ball crossed the line and Stefan did his touchdown dance with Elena still over his shoulder.

"That's cheating!" Alaric called, having been blocked by Jeremy the entire time.

"You're not the Ref" Jeremy pointed out. "What Stefan did was legal" he decided. "Touchdown for us" he smiled proudly.

"You're so not getting sex on Friday" Elena whispered harshly as she tried to get down.

Stefan chuckled as he finally put her back down on her feet. He pulled her close and smiled. "Now why would you want to punish yourself like that?" he asked.

She smacked his shoulder and pushed away from him. "Come on Alaric!" she said.

This time, Elena hiked the ball to Alaric who went running down the field with both Jeremy and Stefan after him. "Alaric!" Elena yelled, having ran down the other side of the field.

Alaric threw the ball towards Elena right before Jeremy tackled him down. Stefan went running after Elena, but it was no use. She was too fast for him to catch her from that far away. Elena crossed the end zone and threw the ball down before turning around and seeing Stefan. "In your face Salvatore!" she said smugly.

Stefan grinned, loving her competitive side. He approached her, grabbing her hands and pulling her to him so he could wrap his arms around her. "God you're sexy when you're competitive" he growled against her ear.

Elena was laughing as she tried to get away from him. She was well aware they had an audience, though she hadn't heard someone else approach.

"Backyard football, just like old times" they heard.

Stefan let go of Elena as she turned to see Matt standing there. "Matt" she said, surprised, though a smile formed.

"Hey Lena" Matt said softly.

Elena's smile grew as she walked away from Stefan and towards Matt. She wrapped her arms around him and Matt returned the gesture. "It feels like forever since I've seen you" she told him.

Matt laughed. "A few years at least" he told her, giving her one last squeeze before letting her go. Jeremy and Alaric shook hands with him as Stefan stood back awkwardly.

Stefan remembered Elena talking about Matt. Matt was a good guy and Elena only left him because she wanted to pursue her career in a city. Part of him wanted to be jealous because of the way Elena looked at Matt still. but the other part of him remembered that Elena had chosen to be with him for a reason, so he really shouldn't worry.

"I want you to meet someone" Elena finally said, dragging Matt towards Stefan. "Matt, this is Stefan. Stefan, this is Matt" Elena said, introducing them to each other.

Stefan extended his hand, taking the high road rather than being an ass. Because the guy seemed perfectly nice. "Elena has told me great things about you" Stefan said, shaking Matt's hand.

Matt smiled. "You must be Elena's boyfriend" Matt said. Then he looked at Elena who looked confused. "Jenna filled me in" he explained.

"Can we get back to the game?" Jeremy asked. "Matt can join Alaric and Elena" he delegated.

They all nodded and Matt walked with Elena back to the center of the field. "I was going to tell you about Stefan …" Elena said quietly as they walked.

Matt smiled though. "Don't worry about it" he told her. "I don't expect you to tell me everything about your life" he said. "It's just good to see you happy" he added, bumping into her as they walked.

Elena smiled as they stopped. She looked across the yard at Stefan who was laughing at something Jeremy had said. "It feels good to be happy again" she said. It felt incredible, actually.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The football game ended after Alaric and Jeremy collided during a tackle and bumped heads. Jenna was tending to them both as they whined about how much their heads hurt.

Elena sat between Stefan and Matt on the couch in awkward silence. Every once in a while she would make a comment about the weather or the football game. Both guys looked tense on either side of her. "Do you guys want something to drink?" she offered.

"No, thanks Elena. I'm good" Matt told her.

"No thanks" Stefan replied uncomfortably.

"I'm going to grab something for myself then" she said, excusing herself.

Matt and Stefan both watched her disappear into the kitchen in silence. It was Matt who broke the silence first. "So, you and Elena" he said, not sure how else to bring up the relationship.

"What about us?" Stefan asked, watching his tone carefully so as not to sound like the jealous boyfriend that he was trying so hard not to be.

Matt sighed, not wanting to drag this conversation on any longer than he needed to. "Just treat her right, okay?" Matt said to him. "She's not just a great girl" he told Stefan before pausing. "She's the best" he smiled, watching Elena with Jenna in the kitchen.

"I know" Stefan said, smiling as he too watched Elena in the kitchen. "Look, I don't want things to be awkward between us. Elena told me you're a good guy and I believe her. So I want you and me to be on good terms. For her sake" Stefan finished.

"For her sake, I do too" Matt told him, turning his body slightly and extending his hand. Stefan shook it and they both smiled.

They began talking after that, like they had known each other for a while and were just catching up. They were so busy talking that neither one of them noticed Elena staring at them from the kitchen with a smile as she watched two important people in her life finding a way to accept one another.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So this is it" Elena said, opening the front door to the lake house and walking inside. Stefan followed behind her, setting down the bags and taking a look around. He gave a low whistle as he admired the inside. "What do you think?" she asked. It was her absolute favorite time of the year to come, when the snow had fallen and turned the entire area white.

Stefan grinned. "I think we are going to really enjoy ourselves" Stefan told her.

She shoved him lightly as she shook her head. "You had better get that fire started buddy. The wood is out back" she smiled.

Stefan grabbed onto her hand and pulled her close to him. He kissed her gently for a moment, running his hands just under the hem of her sweater. "I'll keep you warm for a little bit, and then I can make a fire" he said, smiling against her lips as he prepared himself for something he had been waiting days for.

Elena laughed softly as she pulled away from him. She heard his drawn out whining as he attempted to keep her close. "You go and get the wood. I'm going to go and freshen up" she said. Elena began to pull away from him again.

But Stefan wasn't giving up that easily. "Hang on" he said, pulling her back to him and kissing her passionately. It almost worked, until Elena remembered why she was going to freshen up. She pulled away again, and Stefan groaned in frustration. "I have waited three, long days" he reminded her. "I just … I miss you" he told her, hugging her close and burying his face into her neck.

Elena's heart nearly melted on the spot as she stood there, letting him hold her. "I've missed you too" she told him, wrapping her arms around him. "But I promise you. We are going to get to enjoy ourselves real soon" she told him.

Stefan sighed. "Fine" he told her. "I'll get the fire started" he said, pulling away from her.

Elena smiled as she ran her finger along his jaw. "I'll see you in a few minutes" she smirked, grabbing her bags and going upstairs.

Stefan couldn't help but smile as he watched her for a moment. He sighed as he turned around and went back outside, looking for where the wood was kept. The snow was already half a foot deep with more to come. He picked up his pace a bit when he saw the wood stacked neatly near an old wood shed. Stefan grabbed a handful, figuring it would get them through the night at least. He walked back inside quickly, realizing that the temperature was dropping.

He was knelt down in front of the fireplace, getting it lit when Elena came down the stairs. He heard her, and when he was sure the fire was going, he turned around to see her. And he saw … quite a bit of her.

Elena stood on the last step, holding the railing on the stairs as she looked at him. "Oh. My. God" he said slowly, standing just as slowly as he continued to look at her. She was wearing the dark blue, lacy dress he had picked out for her when they had gone shopping together for her gala dress. She hadn't been all too thrilled about wearing it at first, but to be honest, she kind of thought it looked great on her. And by the way Stefan was looking at her, he thought so too. "You brought the dress" he smiled, slowly walking towards her.

He met her, standing just below her so they were almost eye level with one another. He placed his hands on her hips and rested his forehead against hers, smiling. "I wanted to surprise you" she whispered, locking her hands just behind his neck as she held him close.

Stefan pressed his lips against hers softly, enjoying being this close to her again. "I am definitely surprised" he told her. "Pleasantly surprised" he added, slipping one arm under her legs and the other supported her back as he lifted her up and carried her to the couch. Once he put her down and was lying comfortably with her, he pushed one of the straps on her dress off and kissed her shoulder.

Elena leaned back and smiled, feeling him take his time exploring her body like he sometimes did. "For being in such a hurry earlier, I'm surprised I'm still wearing this dress" she teased, running her fingers through his hair.

Stefan smiled against her skin as he lifted his head slightly to whisper something in her ear. "I paid good money for this dress" he reminded her. "And I intend to enjoy this dress on you for a little while" he added, trailing his hand down the thin material on her dress.

Elena closed her eyes and continued to smile as she felt his hands on her. "If I had known you would enjoy a dress like this so much, I might have bought one sooner" she mumbled.

"Better late than never" he told her, placing light kisses against her neck. "But I love anything you wear" he added. And Elena figured that was a truthful statement, though she knew this little dress she had on excited him a little more than her usual flannel pajama bottoms. "Because I'm just going to take anything you wear off anyways" he added, lifting his head just enough so he could look down at her.

"True" Elena agreed, laughing at him. It felt amazing to be this intimate with someone and to still feel entirely comfortable. Entirely like herself still. It was an experience she wanted to hang on to forever.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan and Elena lay facing each other, still naked, but completely relaxed. Stefan smiled at her, and she smiled back at him as he pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and held his hand there, admiring just how beautiful she truly was. "Thank you for coming with me to see my family" she said quietly, wanting him to know how much she truly appreciated him coming with her. It was a big deal for her, and seeing how well it had turned out gave her hope for their future.

Stefan held her eyes for a moment, really looking into them. It was comforting, being able to look at her and see how much she trusted him and supported him and cared about him. He wondered for just a moment how the universe had decided to make his life better by setting them up to become something pretty amazing. And even if it hadn't been simple at first, being with her was easy now. And he loved it. He loved her.

Elena looked at him curiously as she smiled. "What?" she asked, seeing that he was staring at her intently, like he had something on his mind.

So he chanced it, unsure of how she was going to react but also trusting in the fact that the universe couldn't possibly screw him over just yet, when he had finally become so happy. "I love you, Elena" he said softly.

Elena's smile slowly faded as she took in what he had just told her. "Did you just …?" she asked after a moment, unable to finish her question.

Stefan nodded before he broke out into a smile. "I love you" he repeated, almost as if his words were really registering with him too. "I don't expect you to say it back right now …" he said nervously. Because it was really soon to be saying those words to someone you had only just met, but it felt right for him. And he wanted it to feel right for her when she was ready. "I know we haven't known each other very long and …" he trailed off, rambling nervously now. And hardly anything made him nervous.

"Stefan" Elena said, grabbing his face and his attention. He looked up at her and saw her smiling. "I love you too" she said softly, feeling her own excitement surface as she realized what they were doing.

"So, if I love you, and if you love me, does this mean …?" he asked, this time not being able to finish his question.

Elena nodded. "It means we're kind of really serious now" she told him.

Stefan sighed with relief. "Good" he told her, rubbing his thumb against her cheek as he held the side of her face. "Because I'm ready to be really serious with you now" he said, smiling as he leaned in and kissed her.

Elena kissed him back. And continued to kiss him, wondering if in fact, their passionate kissing would lead to a round two for the night.

It did.

**A/N: 31 chapters later and it was finally said Lol Better late than never ;)**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: This is a shorter update, but I wanted to give you all something while I work on the next update. Yes, heartache is coming. But you all know how I roll by this point, so I suggest you keep reading :D**

**Warnings: Stefan is perfect and Elena says the F word. **

Elena cried when she had to say goodbye to her family. As much as she missed Seattle, saying goodbye to everyone was harder than she had remembered. It probably didn't help that Jenna had been a sobbing mess too, vowing to move to Seattle with Jeremy and Alaric so they could all see each other every day. Alaric practically had to peel Jenna off of Elena, knowing that Stefan and Elena were already running late to the airport.

And just as Alaric had had to peel Jenna away, Stefan had had to do the same with Elena. It quite literally broke his heart to see Elena have to leave her family like that. But he led her to the car and helped her in. He went around and got in the driver's side and held her hand while he watched her wipe at her tears.

So Stefan was even more perfect on the plane ride home than usual. There was no trying to get her to sneak into the airplane bathroom with him. He didn't whisper dirty things into her ear or make suggestive comments about what he wanted to do when they got home.

He snuggled against her, wrapping them in her blanket and whispered "I love you" before kissing her slowly. And it had made Elena feel so much better. "Maybe we can invite them to come to Seattle for Christmas" Stefan suggested, leaning his head against hers. As much as he would have liked to have invited her family to stay the next week, he knew that everyone had busy schedules and that just wasn't going to be possible.

Elena smiled sadly as she held his hand in hers. "I'd really like that" she told him quietly. It was probably one of the sweetest things he could have done, suggesting that to her.

Stefan kissed her forehead gently and wrapped his arm around her tighter. "Why don't you try and sleep the rest of the flight?" he asked. He figured it might make her feel a tad bit better.

Elena nodded her head, agreeing that sleep might be the best thing for her. "I'm sorry I'm being such a cry baby" she said, resting her hand on his chest and her head on his shoulder.

Stefan smiled as he held her close. "You're not a cry baby" he told her. "You just love and miss your family" he explained to her. He'd make fun of her for a lot of things, but never her crying over leaving or missing her family. "Close your eyes" he whispered, pulling the blanket over her more. He knew how uncomfortable it could be to sleep on a plane, so he was doing everything he could to make it better.

Elena closed her eyes and sighed. "Love you" she mumbled as she prepared to settle into sleep.

Stefan smiled, leaning back in his seat. There were no words to describe how much he loved hearing her say that, knowing that she meant it. Knowing that Elena wasn't just using him for his status or his money. Knowing that his relationship with Elena quite possibly was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was a long, tiring week back in Seattle after being off the week before. Stefan was looking forward to going home for the weekend and doing nothing but staying in bed with Elena. Whether they had sex or not, he really didn't care. Actually, yes. He did want sex. He wouldn't deny it. They really hadn't had much of it since they got back because they had been working late into the evening almost every night that week and had even worked that weekend too.

There had been a quick session in the bathroom at work at about 9:00 at night on Tuesday because they both just couldn't stand it anymore. She had gone to the bathroom first and sent him a text, stating she needed him to assist her. He nearly sprinted down the hallways, peeling clothes off on his way. It was just the two of them left in the building, after all.

So when he had busted through the women's bathroom door, she was perched on the marble countertop, swinging her leg back and forth slowly. Her jacket was on the floor and so were her shoes. "Are you going to stare at me all night or are you going to come over here and fuck me?" she had asked, clearly tired of waiting on him.

And all he could do was smile, because hearing her talk like that was pretty damn incredible.

He didn't think he had ever heard them both make that much noise ever while having sex, and he attributed it to the fact that they had both been relatively stressed from a lack of sleep, a busy schedule and sexual tension. But it worked for Stefan. So much so that he halfway thought about abstaining from sex again for a little while if it meant experiencing something like they had in the bathroom again.

There was also an attempt one morning on Thursday that had left them both pretty frustrated when they were going at it and the fire alarm had gone off. Some idiot downstairs had set his kitchen on fire, causing the entire building to evacuate. Stefan and Elena continued to have sex for as long as they could before the fire department was banging on the door, asking if anyone was home and if so, to use the emergency route to exit the building.

Stefan had wanted to cry because they had both been so close, and they weren't going to get to finish. They had been late to work and had to stay even later to make up for it. Both were too tired to finish what they had started when they got home.

So, on Friday evening, when Stefan got a text from his brother saying Damon needed to talk to him after work, Stefan wasn't happy. "You ready to head out?" Elena asked, standing from her desk and putting her jacket on. She looked as exhausted as he did.

Stefan stood as well. "Damon wants to meet with me for a bit before I head home" he told her.

"Oh" Elena replied. "Is this something I need to sit in on too?" she asked.

Stefan shook his head no. "Probably not. I'll fill you in later if need be" he said, walking towards her and pulling her into a hug.

"I can wait for you" she offered, looking up at him and smiling.

Stefan kissed her forehead softly, forcing himself to stay at the office rather than sneaking out with her. "No, you go back to my place and get ready for bed. I'll be along shortly" he promised.

Elena tilted her head up and kissed his lips playfully. "Don't be long" she told him, her long eyelashes catching his attention almost instantly.

"I won't be" he promised. Stefan reluctantly let her slip out of his arms. She grabbed for her things and gave him one last small smile before walking away. He didn't stop staring at her until she was gone.

Stefan logged off of his computer and wandered down the hall to his brother's office. "Alright, I'm here. What is so important that we can't do this on Monday?" Stefan questioned, plopping down in one of Damon's chairs. He wiggled uncomfortably in it for a moment. "These things are horrible" Stefan complained. "No wonder we lost clients. I wouldn't want to sit in these things either" he added, smirking at his attempt to be cute.

"Funny, Stefan" Damon said, tossing a folder at him.

Stefan caught it awkwardly. "What's this?" he asked.

"Open it" Damon told him.

"Seriously, Damon" Stefan said, opening the folder and pulling out documents. "I've worked my ass off all week. I'm exhausted and I've got Elena waiting at home for me" he rambled on as he looked over the documents in his hand. He recognized right away that they were from Gregory's Coffee. "What are these?" Stefan asked, looking at Damon carefully.

"Read them" Damon encouraged, smiling as he sat back.

So Stefan read them carefully. One after another after another he skimmed. "These are records from Gregory's Coffee" Stefan stated. "So?" Stefan asked.

Damon threw another stack of papers at Stefan. "This is the entire financial report for the past three years" Damon explained.

"I'm not following you" Stefan told him. So, they had information on all of Gregory's Coffee's financial records? It didn't give anything away and quite frankly, Elena was more useful than any piece of paper for information.

Again, Damon smiled. "Those documents you possess in the folder indicate financial transactions not listed in the records" Damon stated. Then Damon smirked.

It took Stefan only a second to realize what Damon was suggesting. "Embezzlement" Stefan said. Stefan stared at his brother seriously for a moment before going back through the documents and then referring to the records that Damon had given him. There were transactions of large sums of money not documented on record. "How did you get these?" Stefan asked, holding up a handful of documents.

"Does it matter?" Damon asked. "Stefan, Gregory's Coffee has been embezzling for years. We turn the company in for financial fraud and not only is our company back on top, but Gregory is done for good" he explained.

Stefan closed his eyes and sighed out of the frustration that had slowly been building. This was not good. Not good at all. "I think you're forgetting one really important thing here" Stefan stated. "Every aspect of a company's finances fall back on the CFO. If Gregory's Coffee goes down for embezzlement, Elena goes right down with them" he reminded.

Damon was no longer smiling, but he didn't seem concerned like Stefan was. "Stefan. Look at the bottom of those documents" Damon told him. So Stefan did. "That's her signature. She signed off on all of those illegal transactions."

Stefan's grip on the documents tightened as he quickly looked through every single one of them. Yes, Elena's signature was on every single one of them. "This has to be some sort of mistake" Stefan said, feeling a knot form in his throat. "There's no way Elena would ever do something illegal that would jeopardize her career" he stated.

"I only know what I see, Stefan. And I see her signature on all of those documents" Damon told him. "You know what Elena was like when she was with Gregory. When he was pushing her, and pressuring her just so he could get ahead in the business world. Can you say with 100% confidence that she wasn't talked into helping the company embezzle money?" Damon asked.

Stefan didn't want to believe it, and quite frankly, he didn't. But Damon had a point. Gregory could intimidate Elena easily. Perhaps he had forced her to participate in the embezzling. "If we ask Elena about this, and she says she didn't have anything to do with it, we leave it alone" Stefan told his brother. Stefan stood up quickly and tossed the documents back on Damon's desk. He turned around to leave the office, far too pissed off about the situation to stay with Damon any longer.

"And what if she doesn't deny it?" Damon asked. Stefan stopped in the doorway, but didn't turn around. "What if she admits to participating in the embezzling?" Damon asked. "This is our ticket out of debt, Stefan. Taking down Gregory's company for embezzlement secures our future. And our mother's" he added.

Stefan balled up his right fist, furious that Damon was bringing their mother into this. But he wasn't going to get into it with Damon tonight. "You and I will both talk with Elena about this on Monday" Stefan told him.

Damon sighed. "Look, Stefan. I know things are going well for you and Elena right now. But you need to ask yourself what is more important for you in the long run" Damon told him. Was it a successful business and career, or a relationship with a woman who had committed illegal activities and thus helped to destroy the Salvatore's in the first place?

Stefan let Damon's words hang in the air for a moment. He knew what Damon was really getting at. Their mother. If Gregory was out of the running, and Salvatore Coffee was back on top, their mother would be set for life in terms of therapies and treatments. "You don't do anything until we talk with Elena" Stefan told him sternly.

Stefan ended up leaving moments later, but getting himself to stop thinking about the embezzlement and Elena's role in it was proving harder than he had hoped.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As soon as Stefan shut the door behind him and kicked his shoes off, Elena was walking around the corner, dressed in a little silky red robe that he had found in her closet one day and determined it was his favorite. He had a lot of favorites, actually. Elena smiled as she walked towards him. He had his back to her as he took his jacket off. Elena slipped her hands along his shoulders, wrapping her arms around him and leaned her head against his back. "I missed you" she said softly, smiling when she felt him turn around. She grabbed ahold of his tie and wrapped it around her finger while looking up at him adoringly. "Come to bed?" she asked in that soft, innocent way that he loved about her.

He nodded slowly and allowed her to take him by the hand and lead him into his room. Stefan slipped his clothes off, allowing Elena to help him where she could. And then she was kissing him as they fell onto the bed. Any other time, he would have been completely into kissing her and taking it further. But at that moment, he couldn't stop thinking about what Damon had told him. "Mmm, Elena" he said, reluctantly pulling away from her. Then he sighed and leaned his head back into his pillow. "Can we just cuddle tonight?" he asked, closing his eyes.

Elena propped herself up on her elbow and looked down at him with a smile. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked jokingly, placing the back of her hand across his forehead to check for a temperature. "You're turning down sex. You must be sick" she grinned.

Stefan peeked one eye open at her and forced himself to smile. "Just tired is all" he told her, which wasn't a complete lie.

Elena placed her hand on his chest and leaned forward to kiss his lips softly. "You sure nothing is wrong?" she asked. Stefan nodded. "Okay" she smiled softly. She leaned over him even more and turned the lamp off before settling down next to him. "I love you" she told him.

Stefan's hand found its way around her back and pulled her body closer to him. "I love you too" he told her. And he did.

And the thought of what might happen come Monday, when he and Damon confronted her about Gregory's Coffee, scared him shitless.

**A/N: Not sure how many of you saw that coming, but I thought it would be an interesting turn in the story. Hope you agree! What is your take on what Elena did or did not do?**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Okay, I decided to give you all one more happy/fluffy/lovey chapter before the heartbreak sets in. **

**WARNING: This chapter is rated between T and M, but I will just say M to be safe. **

**WARNING NUMBER 2: I deserve hate mail for making Stefan so damn perfect.**

**Enjoy :D**

The entire weekend, Elena knew that something wasn't right. Stefan had been distant and when she had offered to go home to give him time alone, he had told her that he wanted her to stay, yet he continued to act strange. Like something was on his mind, but he wasn't going to tell her.

Quite frankly, it scared Elena. It was a repeat of what had happened with her and Gregory. Stefan was getting bored of her too, though much faster than Gregory had.

So on Sunday afternoon, she was putting her shoes on and getting ready to go home. Maybe they needed a night apart. "Where are you going?" Stefan asked, having come out of the kitchen upon hearing her.

Elena kept her back to him as she finished buckling her boot. "Home" she stated.

"What? Why?" he asked, walking towards her and grabbing her arm.

Elena sighed as she turned around to look at him. "Because. Clearly something is bothering you, and since you won't come out and say it, I can only assume that you want your space" she explained.

Stefan closed his eyes and sighed too. The last thing he wanted to do was make Elena feel unwanted, but he couldn't stop thinking about the next day when they would have to talk about the embezzling discovery. Every time he looked at her, he didn't believe that she could be capable of fraud. But then he remembered seeing her signature on those documents, and the slightest possibility that maybe she would have been capable, was there. "I'm sorry" he said. "I've got a lot on my mind right now, and I'm sorry."

Elena raised her eyebrow. "What could you possibly have on your mind that I don't know about?" she asked.

Again, he sighed. "I want to tell you" he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "But not right now" he added.

"Okay, then when?" Elena asked, crossing her arms.

"Tomorrow" Stefan told her. "Tomorrow" he repeated.

Elena looked at him curiously. "Should I be worried?" she asked him. Though she didn't realize it had everything to do with her, she was still concerned for him.

Stefan shook his head slowly. "I want to take you somewhere" he said suddenly, grabbing her hands.

"Where?" Elena asked. It was nearly three in the afternoon.

"You'll see" he said, smiling softly as he pulled her towards the door. Elena had no choice but to follow.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena wasn't from Washington, so she was unfamiliar with the geography. But the first stop they made after leaving Seattle was Aberdeen, nearly two hours later. It was a quiet little shore town on the Pacific Ocean. Elena could smell the salt in the air as soon as they stepped out into the night. "We're just stopping here for a minute" he said, pulling her into a grocery store.

While Elena used the restroom, Stefan had wandered throughout the store picking out what he needed. Elena finished drying her hands and checked her hair and makeup. The wind blowing off of the water had given it that windblown look that she wasn't used to.

Elena found Stefan at the checkout with two paper bags full of things. She grabbed one of the bags and he the other, taking her hand in his as they went back outside. It was getting late and Elena tried not to worry about the fact that they had to work the next day.

It was another half an hour or so before they hit another town. Ocean Shores. Elena's best guess was that they were at a beach. There were a few hotels sprawled out along the sand and random gift shops here and there, but those shops were all closed. Other than that, the town was small. Much smaller than Aberdeen. Quieter too, though Elena realized that not a lot of people were probably at the beach at the end of November. Anyone who did live there year round was already tucked in for the night.

They bypassed the hotels though and soon, they were driving down a small winding road in the dark. They hadn't really talked much, but he had looked over at her a lot during the trip. "Seriously Stefan, where are we going?" Elena finally asked.

Moments later, Stefan's Audi came to a stop in front of some tall grass. "Here" he said, cutting the engine and turning to smile at her. He got out of the car and she followed. They grabbed their bags and Stefan grabbed a blanket out of the trunk.

Elena followed him along a narrow trail, through the tall grass that led to the sand. The water wasn't far. Elena could hear it. Stefan found them a spot in the sand and there was nothing for as far as Elena could see. They were completely secluded from the world.

Stefan spread a blanket out and invited Elena to sit with him. "It's beautiful out here" she said, looking out at the water. It was a little cold, but nothing she would complain about.

They were quiet for a while and Stefan just stared at her as she stared out at the water. "Do you remember, when I asked you if you had any … fantasies?" he asked.

Elena smiled. "Yeah, I told you I wanted to …" she said, then stopped herself as she realized what they were doing at the beach. Her eyes got wide as she looked at him.

Stefan leaned over and brushed his lips against hers gently for a second. "You told me that you wanted to have sex on a beach" he said quietly. He raised his hand and gently touched her shoulder, slowly pulling her sweater away so he could kiss her skin. Elena closed her eyes when his lips touched her. "And ever since you told me that" he whispered, kissing along her neck. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about it" he finished.

Elena could feel his breath on her neck. Between that and the cold breeze from the ocean, she couldn't help how she shivered. "Oh" was all she was able to spit out.

Stefan smiled, completely forgetting about what had been bothering him all weekend. At least for the evening, he could remember what it was to be so happy with her. He brought his lips back to hers and kissed her slowly as his fingers unzipped her jacket. She was working on his as well, pushing it off of his shoulders. She got his t-shirt up and over his head, breaking their kiss momentarily before his fingers eagerly pulled at the buttons on her shirt.

Elena bit his bottom lip playfully as she undid his jeans. Stefan didn't hesitate to kick them off, or his briefs and hurriedly got her jeans down her legs too, because it was freezing cold with the ocean breeze hitting their skin.

Once he got her completely naked, he pulled one end of the blanket over them as he moved over the top of her, doing his best to shield them from the cold. But the cold air was the last thing on Elena's mind. She tilted her head back slightly when he kissed her neck, determined to take his time with her that night. Everything had been so rushed between them lately, and he finally was in the position to slow things down.

Elena kissed his shoulder as she ran her hands down the side of his waist lightly, stopping at his hips and keeping them there. She leaned her head back again, feeling his tongue trail its way down, kissing the top of her left breast. He smiled against her skin when he felt her nails digging lightly into his hips. And when he took her breast into his mouth, she cried out softly. It was slow and it was perfect. The dual action of his tongue swirling around her and his mouth lightly sucking and tugging at her made her moan.

She whimpered lightly when his mouth left her, but she soon forgave him when his mouth landed on the other breast, planning to give it the same attention that the other one had gotten. His right hand made its way to the now neglected breast and he massaged her, earning himself a string of moans indicating that she was extremely grateful for what he was doing to her.

When he was finished, he looked up and saw the silliest smile on her face as she laid there, her eyes shut and her head turned slightly to the side. He absolutely loved seeing her like that, knowing that he did that to her. And probably only he ever had.

Stefan gripped the upper part of her waist up near the top of her ribcage with both hands as his tongue licked its way lower. He stopped for a few minutes, paying attention to her stomach, finding that she was extremely sensitive to the right of her bellybutton. She made sure to let him know that she appreciated the light kisses against her skin.

She laughed as his hands skimmed across her stomach, indicating that she was in fact extremely ticklish in certain spots. He had never noticed that before. "Stefan!" she gasped, grabbing his hands which had continued to touch where she was most ticklish. Her hands tried to push his away and her body curled up slightly.

But he just moved her hands out of his way and pushed her body back down as it had been before. "Someone's extremely ticklish right there" he said, grinning at her. "Good to know" he added, leaving her stomach alone for the time being.

Elena relaxed some, but not for long. Not when she felt his tongue trailing even farther down. She was already so tightly wound that she knew she'd be gone as soon as he made contact. "Stop" she blurted out finally, right before what she was sure was going to be an amazing part of the evening. Stefan looked up at her, seeing her eyes staring back at him. She reached her hand down, taking his and pulling his body back up so they could be face to face again. She let go of his hand and ran her fingers through his hair, smiling as she admired how truly beautiful he was. "Not tonight" she whispered, easing any concerns he had about her stopping him. While she always appreciated that kind of attention for him, that wasn't her goal for them tonight. "Tonight, I want it to be about both of us. Not just me" she said, sliding her hands down to cup his face.

He leaned down and kissed her, only letting them up for air when he could hear her panting harshly. She smiled, touching his cheeks with just her fingertips. He smiled back at her, grabbing her hands and kissing her fingers one by one. Then he stretched both her arms and his above her head, laying his body completely on top of hers. "Do you know how much I love you?" he whispered, touching his nose to hers.

"How much?" she asked, holding his gaze with one of her own.

"So much" he promised, brushing his lips against hers briefly. He pressed his body against hers, entering her slowly. "So. Fucking. Much" he whispered against her ear. His fingers intertwined with hers, gripping her hands firmly as he moved against her slowly. Lovingly.

He was in no rush whatsoever, and the sweet slow torture was sending sparks through her veins. When the pleasure was rising and she felt her toes begin to curl, he stilled his movements. "What … what are you doing?" Elena asked, opening her eyes to look at him.

"Slowing this down … making it last" he assured her, kissing her lips once again.

Elena groaned, squeezing his hands tight. "This was supposed to be my fantasy, remember?" she asked him. She heard him chuckle against her skin. "And there's no slowing down in my fantasy" she informed him.

"And just what are you going to do about it?" he asked, nibbling on her ear lightly. Her body was pinned to the ground by his and he had her hands secured above her head.

Elena sighed. Yes, what was she going to do? "I guess there's only one thing I can do" she told him, pressing her fingertips against his hands.

"And what is that?" Stefan asked.

Elena smiled softly. "I'm going to tell you how much I love you to" she said. He lifted his head up slightly so he could look into her eyes again. "That being with you makes me feel alive again, and I couldn't imagine not having you in my life" she said, her voice trailing off into a whisper. "I love you, Stefan. I love that you brought me here" she said, looking into his eyes. He almost looked paralyzed by her words. "I love the feeling of you on top of me. I love the feeling of you making love to me, touching me … kissing me" she said, feeling her voice catch in her throat as her emotions took over. But it was no longer about trying to get him to resume their love making. It was about her, for the first time, really thinking about how much she loved him. "I just love you so much" she said, barely audible as a few tears slipped down her face.

Stefan's hands let go of hers instantly and he quickly used his thumbs to wipe away the remaining tears lingering on her cheeks. "I promise you" he whispered, holding her face in his hands. "I will always love you, no matter what" he told her, kissing her lips softly and thinking about how much meaning those words truly held. Elena wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close as she closed her eyes. Stefan wrapped his arms around her as well. "Look at me" he said quietly, waiting for her to open her eyes before he shifted his hips slightly and began moving inside of her again. Her arms tightened around him as she stared up into his eyes, biting her bottom lip as she felt him move inside of her. It felt heavenly. Soft and slow and warn and perfect.

Yes, she had dreamed about doing this with someone on a beach somewhere. Though, in her head, she was someplace warm with white sand. But quite honestly, the warmth and the white sand were just small details compared to the way Stefan was making her feel. Stefan was the perfect person to play out this fantasy with her, because he loved her.

Stefan rocked against her, still as gently as he had when he first started that evening. The waves crashing in the background mixed with Elena's moans and their increasing breaths per minute.

It could have been half an hour, maybe longer before they both teetered over that edge that had been building. They remained under the blanket, laying side by side and staring at one another. Elena's foot slid up and down his leg playfully as they both relaxed.

It wasn't until she shivered that Stefan made a move to get up and grab their clothes. They dressed quickly and she sat in his lap, wrapped in their blanket staring out at the water. Stefan fed her a grape he had bought at the store. She smiled as she accepted his kiss soon after. She could taste the salt on his lips, knowing that it was floating around in the air all around them. "I'd like to come back here sometime" Elena said, leaning her head against his.

Stefan wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed against her chin. "I'll get us a cabin built down here, so we can have a place of our own to stay in when we visit" he told her.

"You'd do that for me?" Elena asked, turning slightly in his lap to look at him.

Stefan smiled, kissing her cheek. "I'd do anything for you" he told her.

Elena closed her eyes and sighed. "That's a nice thing to hear" she told him. "A very nice thing" she added.

Stefan kissed her hair and closed his own eyes, holding on to that moment. Because the next day was going to truly test their love. And their loyalty.

**A/N: Yeah … I make myself jealous of the characters I write. I need this Stefan in my life. Like now. **


	34. Chapter 34

Stefan watched the clock tick in their office. It was all he could hear and all he could focus on. Everything else was blocked out, even Elena's voice as she made a phone call.

Damon would be calling them both into the conference room any minute. To discuss the embezzling and whether or not Elena was a part of it. Stefan was preparing for the worst. After all, life had a funny way of knocking him off of his feet whenever he finally found happiness.

He jumped, feeling someone touch his shoulder. He looked up to see Elena standing over him with a look of concern on her face. "Are you going to tell me what has you so on edge?" Elena asked.

But before he could answer, Damon was in the doorway. "I need to speak with you both in the conference room" he said.

Elena looked from Stefan to Damon. "I have a conference call in ten minutes" Elena informed him. The tone set in the room was icy and Elena was starting to get a bad feeling about everything. About Damon wanting to meet with them and about Stefan acting so strange all weekend.

"I'll have Betty push it back until later" Damon replied. This couldn't wait.

Elena looked back down at Stefan who was avoiding her eyes like the plague. "Stefan?" Elena asked quietly. She grabbed for his hand and he squeezed hers lightly before standing up.

"Come on" he said, continuing to hold her hand as they followed Damon. They all walked in silence down the hall and entered the conference room. A room that once made Elena blush after remembering what she and Stefan had done in it, now felt unwelcome. Elena sensed that something wasn't right.

"Please, have a seat" Damon said, pointing to a chair for Elena to sit in. She did so, only to notice that Stefan wasn't going to sit next to her. He sat on the other side of the table, next to Damon.

"Do either of you care to tell me what's going on?" Elena asked, doing her best to keep herself composed. When deep down, she wanted to burst into tears. Yes, she had put two and two together. The thing that had been bothering Stefan all weekend was the very same thing that they were all sitting in the meeting for. She was sure of it. Clearly, it had something to do with her, seeing as how both men had sat across from her, indicating that she was on her own.

And it meant that Stefan had kept something from her. Damon opened the folder sitting next to him and looked at Stefan before tossing the documents across the table to Elena. "Do these look familiar?" Damon asked.

Elena glanced down at them nervously for a moment before looking back up. "I don't know" she answered honestly. They were documents and a lot of documents looked the same after so many years of staring at them.

The way she said it tore at Stefan's already hurting heart. He just wanted to tell Damon to shove the documents up his ass and then take Elena out of there. It wasn't fair to interrogate her like this. Damon tossed the second stack of papers to Elena, and she glanced down at those as well. "Financial reports for the last several years at Gregory's Coffee" Damon informed her. "Now, is there something off about what you have in front of you?" he asked, a tad arrogantly.

Stefan's right hand clenched and Damon took note to tone his attitude down a little. Elena looked helplessly at Stefan before looking back down at the two stacks she had in front of her. Her eyes scanned both carefully. It didn't take her long to catch the issue at hand. She was no idiot, after all.

It didn't take her long to figure out what Damon, and she guessed Stefan, were accusing her of. "Embezzlement" she whispered, looking back up at them. Fear struck through her almost instantly. Embezzlement was an instant end to one's career. Not to mention jail time and an everlasting label of being a fraud.

"I don't suppose you know anything about this, do you Elena?" Damon asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "I mean, that is your signature on the bottom of all of those transactions, am I right?" he asked, pushing her to admit to the crime she had committed. Elena looked down at the bottom of the first page, and then the others. All of them had her signature on them.

Panic raced through her and she felt extremely sick. What the hell was she supposed to say to that? "I … I need to go" Elena said quickly, stumbling as she stood up from her chair. She moved quickly to get out of there. Once outside the room, she used to wall to keep her upright because the realization of what she was being accused of was coming at her hard and fast.

"Elena wait!" Stefan called out after her. But she ignored him as she continued walking back to their office. "Elena!" he yelled, grabbing her arm and forcing her to turn around once they were in the office. He kicked the door shut.

"You knew about this?" Elena asked angrily. "For how long?" she asked. Stefan remained quiet, unwilling to answer her. "How. Long?" she asked, slowly yet sternly.

"Damon told me on Friday" he said finally, and the guilt seeped through his voice. He should have said something to her Friday when he found out. He shouldn't have kept it from her all weekend.

Elena yanked her arm away from him in disbelief. "So you thought blindsiding me on a Monday morning was better than discussing it with me when you first found out?" she asked him, completely frustrated with the situation. Scared, really. But being angry was easier than completely panicking.

They stared at one another for a few moments, both unsure of what the other was going to do or say. "Did you do it?" Stefan finally asked, so quietly that she had to strain her ears to make sure she heard him right.

She backed up even further from him. "You're seriously asking me that?" she asked, her face expressing the complete betrayal she was feeling right then.

He recognized what she was doing right away. She was shutting down, so as not to panic in front of him. She was spinning things back around on him and he saw right through her. Because he understood how terrifying this whole situation was. He was scared too.

In an instant, Elena was at her own desk, throwing her things into her bag fiercely. "Your signature is on every single one of those documents Elena" he reminded her, feeling himself start to panic. The thought of how much trouble she could be in was overwhelming. She ignored him though, slinging her bag over her shoulder and intending to brush by him on her way out. He wasn't going to let her leave though. Not yet.

Stefan grabbed her by her arms and forced her to sit back down in his chair. He kneeled in front of her, holding her there. Elena's utter shock that he would do that lingered. But he needed her to hear him. "Elena" he spoke slowly, looking into her eyes. "I need you to be honest with me" he told her. "No matter what, I'm going to protect you" he promised.

Her anger almost disappeared instantly as she listened to him. Protect her. From the law? There was no way. "You can't help me" she told him with absolutely no emotion. Like she had given up. Like it was all over.

"Yes I can" he told her, holding her arms even tighter. Because he had to make her understand that he would do anything to help her.

A tear fell from her eye, one she hadn't even known had formed. "No" she whispered. "I need to go" she told him.

Stefan stared at her helplessly, like he couldn't believe that she wasn't accepting his help. "Don't do this" he whispered, just as quietly as she had.

She didn't say anything as she stood up, causing him to let go of her arms. She didn't even look back as she left the office. Left him kneeling on the floor, having poured out his loyalty to her.

Left him wondering what was true and what wasn't.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So what did she say?" Damon asked a few hours later. Stefan was sitting in his chair silently, his back to Damon. Stefan hadn't moved since Elena left. "Is she guilty or not?" Damon questioned. Stefan didn't answer him. So Damon sighed as he walked further into the office. "We need to contact the government and report the fraud" Damon told him.

"We're not contacting anyone" Stefan said neutrally, though he was holding a lot of anger back. Anger fueled by fear. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew he was going to do something to make sure Elena was protected.

"Yeah, Stefan. We are" Damon told him. Gregory's Coffee embezzling was a sure way to make sure the Salvatore's stayed on top for good.

Stefan was up and out of his chair so fast, Damon had to stumble backwards a few steps, mainly because Stefan's anger was about to be unleashed and Damon knew it. Stefan practically charged at Damon, grabbing him by the collar of his expensive jacket and slamming him up against the wall. Stefan was in his face, his anger seeping through him at a dangerous rate. "I said we're not turning them in!" Stefan yelled.

"If she's innocent, then you've got nothing to worry about" Damon told Stefan calmly. Then a hint of curiosity seemed to brighten in his eyes. "You're not sure if she's innocent, are you?" Damon asked. "You think she might have been a part of the embezzling, don't you?"

Stefan stared Damon dead in the eye, his look one of warning. "I don't care if she murdered someone. I'm not letting anything happen to her" he said sternly.

And that's when Damon smiled. "We're talking about our company being worth millions if Gregory is out of the running. You. Me. Bonnie. Mom. We'll be set for life" he told him. "Our kids will have a future" he added.

"And what about Elena's future?" Stefan asked. "Huh? You and I both know she's looking at jail time if we report any of this" he said angrily. Because there would be no kids for Stefan and Elena if she spent the next ten to fifteen years in jail.

"And sometimes, we have to live with the consequences of our actions" Damon lectured.

This only seemed to further anger Stefan. He slammed Damon into the wall again. "Why are you the only one who gets to be happy, huh Damon?" Stefan yelled. "You have your perfect relationship with Bonnie and you love her and I have never, ever done anything to get in the way of you two" he said angrily. "You don't get to get in the way of my happiness for your own gain" he spit out at him.

Damon shoved Stefan, knocking him off balance. He fixed his jacket and stepped towards Stefan who had backed off for the time being. "You can hate me all you want, Stefan. But I'm doing what I need to save this company. To secure our future" he told him. "Hopefully one day, you will understand that" he finished, turning around and leaving.

Stefan stared at Damon, feeling utterly helpless. Damon was going to turn Elena in. He was going to ruin her future. Damon was going to ruin Stefan's future.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Since the day Damon and Bonnie had become serious, Stefan had a made it a point to befriend Bonnie. After all, if Damon loved Bonnie that much, Stefan figured he owed it to his brother to build a relationship with Bonnie too.

And it had been one of the best relationships he had formed. Every time he had needed to depend on Bonnie, she had come through. And he had tried to do the same for her.

Stefan's goal had never been to pull Bonnie into the middle of his feuding with Damon, but at this point, he was beyond desperate. Advice wasn't going to be enough this time. Stefan was going to need her to intervene. And fast.

It was just past three in the afternoon and Stefan knew that Damon would still be at work. If his memory served him correctly, Bonnie should have been back from her class.

And she was. Her car was at the house anyway. "Bonnie?" he called out as he let himself into the house. "Bonnie!" he practically yelled, because as each minute ticked by, Damon could have been making a single phone call that could have singlehandedly ruined Elena's life. His life.

"Stefan?" Bonnie asked, coming down the stairs. Her usual bright smile was nowhere to be found and her eyes showed her concern. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked.

And before he could answer, he had his arms around her, pulling her into a hug and letting himself feel helpless for a moment. "I don't know what to do" he mumbled. His chest felt so heavily and he was sure it was a combination of anxiety and fear.

"Hey, shhh" she told him, wrapping her arms around him. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Is it your mom? Did something happen?" she asked.

Stefan just shook his head no. He pulled away from her suddenly, trying to somewhat compose himself. "It's Damon" he said, his voice shaky. "He's going to ruin everything."

Bonnie's concern remained, but she was calm. She usually was when someone needed her help. So, she simply nodded and placed her hand on his arm, leading him into the living room. She left briefly to make him a cup of tea, but he didn't drink it. He had calmed down considerably though. He held onto the tea, trying to figure out how he wanted to tell Bonnie about everything. "What's Damon done this time?" Bonnie asked. She was no stranger to Damon's flaws.

Stefan leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes, feeling completely exhausted. "He found evidence that Gregory has been embezzling money. He wants to report it" Stefan said, sighing heavily.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Bonnie asked, completely clueless to how those types of things worked.

"No" Stefan said, opening his eyes and looking at her. "The documents, indicating the embezzling activity have Elena's signature on them" he told her.

The realization of the situation hit Bonnie instantly. "And if Damon reports the embezzling, Elena's going to be charged, isn't she?" Bonnie asked.

Then Stefan looked at her with the saddest look he probably ever had since he'd known her. "If Damon does this Bonnie, if he turns them in, Elena's looking at 10 to 15 years in prison" he explained. "She can't go through that. I can't let her have to go through that" he told her.

"You don't think she did it, do you?" Bonnie guessed. Based on how little she knew Elena, she wouldn't have guessed that Elena would have done it either.

Stefan shook his head no. "I mean, I believe that is her authentic signature because when we asked her about it, she looked crippled. Like she knew she was in trouble. But I don't think she would have willingly participated" he stated.

Bonnie looked at him closely for a moment, studying him and choosing her next question carefully. "What if she did do it though?" Bonnie asked. She didn't want to go there, but what if it was true?

Stefan was quiet for a long time before he answered. "It wouldn't change the way I feel about her" he said quietly. And it wouldn't. Sure, he would have been disappointed in her, but his love for her would never change. There was a long pause before he said anything else again. "Please, Bonnie. I need your help. He'll listen to you" he told her.

"And if he doesn't?" Bonnie asked. Because there was always that chance that Damon wouldn't. Damon was stubborn as hell when he was on a mission.

"Make him listen" Stefan told her, standing up abruptly.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked, turning to see him walking away from her. She was extremely worried about him.

"To find Elena" he said, throwing it over his shoulder.

"Hey" Bonnie said, causing him to stop and turn to look at her again. "You really love her, don't you?" she asked. Of course she would help Stefan. He was her family. And she believed in true love.

"I really love her, Bonnie" he confirmed. He nodded slowly, then turned back around and continued walking.

He left Bonnie sitting there by herself, pondering the entire situation. The company. The power. The money. Bonnie was no stranger to knowing how these three things could cripple the family.

And she had sat by and watched for long enough.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

He couldn't find Elena anywhere. Not at her place. Not at any of the restaurants they typically frequented. She wasn't picking up her phone, nor answering his texts. It was nearly six at night, meaning he had spent almost three hours running around the city looking for her.

To make matters worse, the temperatures were dropping and they were calling for snow showers in Seattle that evening. He didn't like the fact that she could possibly be out driving on the roads in those conditions.

He didn't like the fact that he didn't know if Damon had called and reported Gregory's Coffee yet, or if Bonnie had gotten through to him instead.

He didn't like the fact that he was extremely angry with Elena right now when all he wanted to do was hug her as tight as he could.

Stefan ended up back at his place, hoping she might have been there by then. She wasn't. He flopped down on his couch, lying on his back as he looked up at the ceiling. He was incredibly exhausted, having spent a late evening the day before with Elena at the beach. An incredible evening, before everything had gone to hell.

Stefan closed his eyes, thinking that maybe just a few minutes to rest his eyes would do the trick.

But he could hear her whispering in his ear and he could feel her hand touching his skin, caressing it lightly as she had when they were under the blanket.

He opened his eyes again, not wanting to think about their time at the beach together. Not when it could have been their last time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Damon hung his jacket up in the closet first thing when he came home. The house was quiet and he wondered where Bonnie was. "Bon?" he asked, walking towards the kitchen. There was no sign of her, or that dinner had even been started. Damon turned and walked towards the living room, seeing a small lamp light turned on. He found Bonnie sitting on a chair in silence, staring ahead of her. "Everything okay?" he asked cautiously as he made his way towards her.

"I guess that all depends" she said after a moment, turning to look at him.

Damon looked at her like he really didn't know what she was talking about. "What's going on?" he asked, remaining standing where he was.

She shook her head and laughed at how he could honestly stand there and play dumb with her. Like she was just his pampered little trophy wife. Like she wasn't his equal and like she didn't need to be bothered by his actions that were going to hurt others. She was so disgusted with him. "I told you that I wasn't going to put up with this anymore" she told him, a hint of anger lining her voice. "I told you that I wasn't going to sit around and watch this company tear our family apart again."

The light bulb went off in Damon's head and recognition flashed through his eyes. "Stefan" Damon guessed, almost laughing as he ran his hand over his face. "He came over here crying to you, didn't he?" Damon asked. "Of course he did. He couldn't possibly be a man about this. No, he had to go running to you and make you change my mind" he told her, disgusted with his younger brother's tactic.

Bonnie stood suddenly, walking towards him and pinning him with her angry eyes as she did. "He didn't make me do anything" she corrected him. "He came to me because you're being an arrogant asshole to benefit yourself" she threw at him.

Damon glared at her. "You think this is all for my own benefit?" he asked angrily. "If I report Gregory and Elena, they go to jail for a crime they committed and their company goes right down with them. Do you not understand my logic here? Our company will be financially secure. Our future will be financially secure!" he nearly yelled at her. Why couldn't she or Stefan get that?

Bonnie looked completely hurt as she stared at him, wondering who in the hell was standing before her. "You think that is what matters? Us being financially secure?" she asked him. "We are talking about sending Elena to jail for a really long time!" she said, raising her voice at him. "We are talking about ruining Stefan's chance at happiness. All for what? More money than we will know what to do with?" she asked angrily.

"I want Gregory put behind bars and out of my life" Damon said, letting the true motive for his plan come to light.

"Revenge" she stated. "That's what really matters to you, isn't it? Getting back at Gregory?" she asked him. "And the money and the power of being back on top, that's just the icing on the cake, isn't it?" she asked, feeling tears prick at the backs of her eyes. "Is getting revenge on some longtime rival worth losing your brother?" she asked him.

Damon could tell that Bonnie was about ready to cry and he was already starting to hate himself for it. "He'll understand one day" Damon told her, much more calmly.

But Bonnie just shook her head. "No, Damon. He won't. He will hate you until the day he dies" she said, feeling the first tear slide down her cheek.

"Bonnie" he said, stepping forward and reaching out for her.

She stepped back and smacked his hand away. "This company brings out the best and worst in you" she told him. "And I'm done seeing the worst" she said, turning to leave the room.

"Wait!" he called out, rushing to grab her arm to stop her.

Again, she escaped his touch. She spun around so fast, it nearly made him dizzy. "I will not sit by and watch you hurt Stefan like that!" she said angrily. "So if you want to turn Elena in so you can seek revenge on some jackass, you do it alone. Or find someone else who is as heartless as you are" she said, pulling her engagement ring off and throwing it at him.

It bounced off of his chest and by the time it hit the ground, she was already walking away.

And Damon wasn't sure if she would come back this time.


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Just a warning, this chapter has no Stefan/Elena interaction. But the next update will most likely just be the two of them. **

**I hope you still enjoy this update though. I love Bonnie so much.**

Elena finally shut her phone off for the night. The more messages and calls she got from Stefan, the guiltier she felt for ignoring him.

It wasn't that she was angry with him for questioning her innocence. She just wasn't sure how to talk to him because she wasn't sure what in the hell she was going to do about her situation. She needed time to think and she couldn't do that with Stefan around.

Aside from taking her and running across the border, there really wasn't much that Stefan could do for her. A law had been broken and no judge was going to have mercy on her. At least probably not a lot of it. Neither of them had enough money to hire a good enough lawyer, at least not without crippling the company even more and driving them both into dept.

If she was angry with anyone, it was with Gregory. And she planned on giving him a piece of her mind when she got the chance.

But right now, she was content sitting at the bar, nursing a beer. She hardly ever drank beer, but it seemed appropriate. It could have been her last beer for quite some time. There we quite a few patrons in the bar and a few had tried to talk to her, but the fact of the matter was, she wasn't going home with any of them so they lost interest.

By age 30, Elena wanted to be married. She wanted to be married to someone who loved her unconditionally. By age 32, she wanted to start having children.

And if she went to jail for embezzling, she knew she could kiss all of that goodbye.

Elena checked her watch and saw that it was nearing ten at night. "They say a storm is coming in Miss" the bartender said, wiping off the counter. "You better think about heading home soon" he said, giving her a kind smile before turning to make someone else's drink. Elena sighed. Sooner or later, she was going to have to go home. A storm definitely was coming, but it wasn't the weather that terrified her.

When Elena did walk off of her elevator, she saw someone sitting in front of her door waiting. Definitely not someone she expected to see. "Bonnie?" Elena said, walking towards her. Bonnie looked up at Elena who knelt down in front of her. "Is everything okay?" Elena asked, seeing Bonnie's tear-stained face.

Bonnie looked so sad, but she attempted to smile for her. "I just needed someplace to clear my head" she said, really having no idea why she came to Elena's apartment. They were newly acquainted friends at best.

Elena held Bonnie's sad eyes for a second before slowly nodding her head. "Would you like to come in?" Elena asked her.

Bonnie smiled, feeling more tears run down her face. She quickly wiped away at them and nodded. "I would" she said, standing up. Elena quickly unlocked her door and let them both inside. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess" Bonnie apologized.

"Don't apologize" Elena told her softly. She had grown to like Bonnie a lot in the short time she had known her. "Can I get you something to drink?" Elena asked, taking her jacket from her and hanging it up. "Coffee? Tea? Something on the rocks?" she asked, smiling slightly.

Bonnie smiled too. "Tea would be wonderful. Thank you" she told Elena.

"Here, make yourself at home and I will go and start the kettle" she told Bonnie, ushering her over to the couch.

Bonnie sat there in silence, looking around Elena's living room. It was a nice place. Much nicer than the apartment Bonnie had lived in first before she lived with Damon. Her place had been so bad in fact that Damon had insisted she move in with him less than two months into their relationship.

Bonnie glanced to her left and saw a framed photo on an end table next to the couch. She picked it up and examined it. It was a photo of Elena and Stefan. And Stefan looked ridiculously happy. Happier than she had seen him in she didn't know how long.

Elena came out with two mugs of tea and saw Bonnie holding onto her picture. "We took that when he took me snowboarding" Elena said, setting Bonnie's tea down in front of her and sitting next to her.

"You both look so happy" Bonnie commented. "And now it's going to be ruined, because of my fiancé" Bonnie added.

Elena looked away from Bonnie, needing a moment to gather what she wanted to ask. "Is that why you're here?" Elena asked.

Bonnie nodded. "Stefan came over earlier" Bonnie said, taking a small sip of her tea. "He was so upset and he told me what Damon was going to do. He asked me to help him, so I did" she explained.

Elena studied her carefully. "What did you do?" she asked, almost afraid to hear her answer.

"I told him he couldn't report you or Gregory" Bonnie told her. Then she took a deep breath. "And he told me that he had to, so I walked out on him" she explained. "I just, I don't get it. How could he hurt Stefan like this? How could he have so little regard for his own brother? For me?" Bonnie asked as tears began welling up in her eyes again.

Elena grabbed Bonnie's free hand and squeezed it. "The business world has its own set of rules. It is its own game" Elena said quietly. She had learned that a long time ago. "Damon is making a smart business move by reporting the embezzling" Elena told her. Elena knew that Damon was right to make the report, even if it scared her to death. "I just wish I wasn't on the receiving end of this whole ordeal" she said, smiling sadly.

Bonnie squeezed her hand and shook her head as she began to cry softly. "I've seen this company tear Stefan and Damon apart before" she told Elena sadly. "They didn't speak for almost a year" she added, setting her tea down and covering her face with her hand. "I hate it Elena. I hate everything about what the power and the competition and the money do to Damon" she admitted.

And it broke Elena's heart to sit there while Bonnie poured her heart out. Elena knew firsthand what money and power and competition could do to someone. She lived right in the middle of it since the day she started working with Gregory. It was brutal and people went to great lengths to get what they wanted. "Damon does what he has to do to run a successful business" Elena told her.

Bonnie continued to cry as she shook her head. "I can't live like this anymore" she confessed. It was too hard for her, when all she wanted was to love Damon and be loved by him. When she didn't want the money and the power like he did. When she just wanted to be normal if that meant being happy.

"What are you saying?" Elena asked hesitantly. "That you don't want to be with him anymore?" she asked.

Bonnie sighed deeply to calm herself down, though she was still crying. She turned and looked at Elena with the saddest brown eyes Elena had ever seen. "I can't" she told Elena, and Elena could hear the fear in her voice. "I'm pregnant, and I couldn't do that to him" she confessed. She couldn't walk out on Damon for good when they were about to have a baby together.

Elena's heart nearly stopped as she listened to Bonnie. A baby. Bonnie should have been celebrating the fact that she was pregnant, but instead, she was crying herself into exhaustion. "How am I supposed to raise an innocent baby when there is so much anger and hatred going on around us?" she asked Elena.

Elena didn't have an answer for Bonnie. "I … I don't know" she told her. Then she took in a small breath. "Does Damon know?" she asked.

Bonnie shook her head no. "I was planning on telling him this weekend. We were going to Leavenworth to celebrate our anniversary." She had only found out the week before and it had taken everything she had in her not to say anything. Because she wanted it to be special when she told him. "I mean, having a baby right now wasn't planned, but Damon always said that whenever it happened, it would be the right time" she explained. Clearly, this was not even close to being the right time. "I'm just, I'm so worried about you. About Stefan" she said quickly, indicating why she wasn't more excited about being pregnant right then.

Elena snapped out of her surprise and grabbed Bonnie's other hand. "You're pregnant" Elena said, doing her best to smile. "You should be excited and happy. You shouldn't be worrying about others right now" Elena told her. "You shouldn't be worrying about me" Elena told her.

"That's what I do. I worry" Bonnie told her, giving Elena a small smile back. But it faded quickly. "I'm so sorry about all of this Elena" she told her. Bonnie felt like she had failed both Elena and Stefan.

Elena pulled Bonnie into a hug, afraid that if she met Bonnie's eyes again, she would cry too. They both would. "Everything will be okay" Elena told her, needing to comfort her but also not believing her own words. Because things probably wouldn't be okay, at least not for Elena.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"No morning sickness?" Elena asked the next morning when Bonnie joined her in the kitchen for breakfast.

"Not yet" Bonnie told her. She looked exhausted, but she wasn't crying. "Did you do all of this?" she asked, looking at the plates holding various breakfast foods on them.

Elena nodded. "I don't really know the first thing about being pregnant, but I think you're supposed to eat all of this stuff" she said, pointing at the massive amount of food she had made. "How far along are you, by the way?" Elena asked as she and Bonnie sat down at the counter.

Bonnie was already going straight for the bacon, which she normally wouldn't eat. "The doctor said about four weeks" she said. "I figured something was up when I couldn't stop eating everything in sight" she added.

Elena smiled at her. "So what are your plans then?" Elena asked.

Bonnie sighed, picking at her bacon. "I'm still mad at Damon" she said. "But we need to work things out" she added. Then she sighed. "I think I'm going to fly back home to California for a few days and get some space" she told Elena.

Elena nodded. "I think if that's what you want to do, that's what you should do" she told her.

Bonnie smiled at Elena. "You're a really good friend Elena" she told her. Then she stood up. "Can I borrow your computer to book a plane ticket?" she asked.

Elena nodded. "My laptop is on the table in the living room" she told her.

"Thanks" Bonnie said, grabbing an extra slice of bacon to take with her to the living room.

Elena watched Bonnie leave and then sighed. She felt horrible that Bonnie had gotten dragged into the middle of everything. Elena didn't want anyone worrying about her. She didn't want people fighting because of her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena had taken Bonnie to the airport that afternoon and then found herself at the Salvatore building right before closing.

Everyone had left anyways. As she passed by Stefan's office, she saw that he wasn't there. It looked like he hadn't been there at all. Betty was gone too.

Damon was there though. He was sitting in his chair, staring out his window. His hair was sticking up like he hadn't slept well and then didn't bother to clean himself up that morning when he left for work. "Damon" Elena said quietly.

His chair spun around instantly and his eyes locked onto hers. "This is the last place I thought I'd ever see you again" he told her.

"I need to talk to you" she said, shutting the door behind her. Elena waited until he offered her a seat. She sat down in front of his desk. "Bonnie and Stefan are both mad at you and I can't stand the fact that it has to do with me" she said, figuring that was the best place to start.

"Bonnie called me this morning and told me she was going to California" Damon mentioned. "She also said she stayed the night with you" he added. He had been so relieved to get a call from her after having been up most of the night worried about where she was.

"She did" Elena confirmed. Then Elena decided to change the subject on him to the real issue at hand. "You and I both know the smartest business move for your company to make is to report the embezzling" she told him. Damon nodded because he agreed. "I ran your numbers. With Gregory's Coffee out of the running, your numbers will double by the end of the quarter" she said. Damon had also made those calculations himself. "You and I also both know that if you make the report, you would be putting your relationship with Stefan and Bonnie is jeopardy" she added.

"Which is why I'm not going to do it" Damon told her, surprising her. "There is nothing more I would love to see than to watch Gregory's embarrassing, quick demise" he told her. "But there would be nothing more excruciating for me than to lose my family" he added. "So no, Elena. I'm not going to report the embezzling." He may have been heartless at times, but he wasn't stupid. He couldn't lose his family.

"Then I will" Elena said, surprising him this time. "I'll report the embezzling. Turn myself in" she told him. "Who knows, maybe they'll go easy on me because I'm coming forward" she told him, shrugging slightly. It wasn't likely, but she could have hope.

Damon sat there is silence, thinking about what she said. "Stefan would never forgive you" Damon told her after a moment. He knew his brother and he knew his brother would be furious. Hurt. Unforgiving.

Elena nodded because she knew all of that. She had been the one to tell Stefan she wasn't planning on leaving him. "I'd rather he be angry with me than with you" Elena told him honestly. Because she knew the importance of family.

"And if I told you not to do it?" Damon asked. Though, he wanted, needed her to do this.

"I'll tell Stefan you tried to talk me out of it" Elena assured him. She would make sure Damon and Stefan could eventually be back on speaking terms. "This is for the best" she told him. Maybe not for everyone, but she had her reasoning and Damon had his. "Gregory has done nothing but screw people over" she reminded. "And you and Stefan, your family deserves to have a financially secure future."

"You'd really be that selfless to benefit us?" Damon asked her.

Elena shook her head no. "I'm not selfless Damon. I'm a pawn in the corporate world, and I'm simply making a strategic move" she told him. Damon just stared at her, not really sure what to say. But she figured it was time to go. After all, her time was precious now. "I'm going to go now" she said, standing with her purse.

"What about Stefan?" Damon asked.

Elena did her best to give him a confident look to let him know she had everything under control. But she didn't. She felt like her life was falling apart around her. "I'll handle him" she told Damon. How, she didn't know. She just would.

Damon nodded uncertainly and Elena opened the door. "I'll help with your lawyer and anything else you need" Damon told her.

Her back was still to him, but she nodded anyway. "Thank you" she said quietly. She took a step forward, but he called out to stop her again.

"Stefan's been wanting to send our mother to Europe for treatment. Some new, innovative therapies that we don't have here" Damon mentioned. Elena stood perfectly still as she listened. "They have had incredible results with patients with Schizophrenia. Stefan's been planning this for years." Elena felt the tears well up in her eyes because she knew where this was going. "When I mentioned the embezzling, Stefan knew that once we reported it and Gregory's Coffee went under, our company would grow and we would be able to send her over there for treatment." Damon didn't have to explain things any further. But he was going to. "None of that mattered though, if it meant losing you in the process" he said.

She didn't answer. She couldn't. Instead, Elena took in a shaky breath before making her feet move. Stefan had mentioned treatment overseas, but she supposed she had never really given it much thought about how they couldn't afford it. And Elena knew better than anyone what it felt like to lose a parent or even both. So while Stefan may learn to hate her, Elena knew that her reasoning for reporting the embezzling now had an even larger purpose.

Damon couldn't help the horrible feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. Stefan was going to go out of his mind when he found out what Elena was going to do. And it wouldn't be good for any of them.

**A/N: You all let me know when I should go run and hide …**


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: First, this update is pretty short. But it was all I could get done by the end of the weekend. Second, remember that Elena is in crisis and that people in crisis do not always think logically, though I kind of think her logic makes sense, but maybe that is because I wrote it.**

**Anyway, the next update will skip ahead a bit and will involve Gregory. My intent is for the next update to be scary and I hope I can portray that.**

**Thank you for reading! **

Stefan heard a knock on his door and got up from his seat at the kitchen counter to answer it. When he opened it, he didn't know whether he was relieved or pissed as hell. Both, he decided, but still, he grabbed Elena and pulled her into his arms, nearly squishing her to death as he held on tight. "Thank God" was all he said, closing his eyes and thanking anyone he could think of that Elena was okay. He hadn't been sure where she would go after Damon and he had told her they knew about the embezzlement.

Elena just sort of stood there, not really hugging him back but not trying to escape either. She was still in her state of crisis, though she was functioning. For now.

Eventually, he sort of let go of her and shut the door, taking her to the kitchen because he had a hell of a lot of questions to ask and she had a hell of a lot of answering to do. Elena stood there, waiting for him to get it all out. Because she knew he was angry with her. "Do you know how worried I've been?" Stefan asked. "I called you. I texted you. I ran around all night looking for you" he told her, raising his voice some because he couldn't help it. "The temperature dropped. The roads are icy. It has been snowing on and off" he listed off, as if the weather was his main concern.

"I went out and had a drink and then went home" she told him. This seemed to shut him up, because of course he hadn't gone back to her place to look again. "You can ask Bonnie. She spent the night with me."

Stefan sighed tiredly. "So I'm assuming Damon didn't agree to back off on reporting the embezzling" Stefan stated, turning around and running his hand over his tired face. If anyone was going to be able to get Damon to back down, it was Bonnie. "Damnit" he said, slapping a stack of mail off the counter and watching it scatter onto the floor.

"You had no right going to Bonnie and asking for her help" Elena told him. Stefan turned around and just looked at her with disbelief. He always went to Bonnie. Elena just couldn't stop thinking about poor pregnant Bonnie and how stressed out she was though.

"I went to Bonnie because Damon was being unreasonable" Stefan told her. "I went to Bonnie, because I didn't know what else to do" he said, stepping closer to her. "So don't stand here and tell me I had no right to do what I did" he said, feeling himself starting to get angry all over again with her.

"This is business, not personal" Elena reminded him, keeping her anger in check.

Stefan scoffed. "You can't separate the two anymore, Elena" he told her. "We pretty much kissed that goodbye the moment we started dating" he said. Which was true. And maybe mixing business with pleasure wasn't ideal, but it had been working for them up until this embezzling issue came up.

Elena sighed. "Damon isn't going to report the embezzling" she told Stefan. He looked at her for a moment like he didn't believe her. "I went and saw him today, and he told me that he couldn't do it. Because he loves you and Bonnie too much to cause this rift between all of you" she explained.

"Good. He's not as stupid as I thought" Stefan said with disgust. "So as long as he keeps his word and keeps his mouth shut, we have nothing to worry about" he said, sighing. Elena could see that a lot of weight had just been lifted off of his back. Like he thought things would be okay now. "I'm just really on edge now" he told her, running his hands through his hair. "Why don't we just both go and cool off. We can go for a walk or a drive or …"

"I'm going to report the embezzling" she blurted out. Because she couldn't stand there with him and let him think that everything would be okay. Not when it wouldn't be. "I'm going to turn myself in" she said, willing herself to stay strong as his eyes penetrated hers.

His face changed almost instantly, and betrayal flickered across his face. "Are you kidding me right now?" he asked her, narrowing his eyes at her. She shook her head no. "You're fucking serious right now, aren't you?" he asked, raising his voice at her. He couldn't believe it. She really was thinking about turning herself in. "What the hell Elena?" he asked angrily. "What about me?" he asked her. Yeah, he sounded a bit selfish right then, but he didn't care. Because this decision affected him too.

"This has nothing to do with you!" she snapped at him. "I'm doing this because I want Gregory to pay for what he has done to me!" She wasn't going to be honest with him about why she was really doing it. She had told Damon not to discuss with Stefan the real reasons that she was turning herself in. Right now, Elena needed Stefan to be angry, hurt and crushed. Because if he knew her real reasons, he wouldn't back down. He would never accept that she was doing all of this to help his family. "When I make the report, Gregory is going to jail. His whole company will fall apart. He will fall apart" she explained quickly, angrily.

Stefan saw something change in her eyes. Almost like the caring, loving Elena had vanished, and now this revengeful, evil woman stood before him. "This has nothing to do with me?" Stefan asked angrily. "You're looking at 10 to 15 years in jail Elena!" he yelled at her. "What am I supposed to do during that time, huh?" he asked. "Write letters back and forth with you about how much fun it was to see Gregory lose everything?" he asked harshly.

"If you want to" she told him, shrugging her shoulders defiantly.

Stefan scoffed. "You're not reporting the embezzlement" he told her. He wasn't going to accept her decision and he sure as hell wasn't going to let her do it.

"You don't get to tell me what to do" she reminded him angrily.

"So what, I get no say in any of this?" he asked her. "You just get to give up your life for this stupid idea of revenge and I have to accept it?" he asked her.

"Yeah, you get to accept and respect my decision!" she shot at him. "God Stefan. You're not listening to me!" She was beyond frustrated with him at that moment. It was hard enough for her to accept the fact that she was probably going to go to jail.

"Oh I'm not listening to you?" he shot right back at her. "I am Elena! I'm listening to you tell me that you want to sacrifice your life for what? For revenge on Gregory?" he asked her. "Is it really worth it Elena?" he asked her, grabbing her arms and forcing her closer to him.

"It's my life" she reminded him, seeing how truly angry he was with her.

"Our life" he told her, looking directly into her eyes. "This is our life. God, I love you, Elena!" he said, completely frustrated with her. How could she just make this life-changing decision without any regard to how he would feel about it? "I love you, and I don't want you to do this" he nearly pleaded with her.

Elena felt that tightening in her chest again, indicating that she was losing her ability to cope with this. All of it. She was trying so hard to be tough, but when he said things like that and looked at her like he was doing, it was hard for her to keep up her act. Of course she hadn't expected Stefan give up and accept that she was going to jail. Which is why she had a plan. She always had a plan. "You're talking as if we planned to spend the rest of our lives together" she told him. "What if I never wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, huh?" she asked.

Her words stung and he wondered if his face was showing exactly how he felt right then. Hurt. "You said" he told her quietly, confused as to why she was turning so hostile and nasty towards him. What had he ever done but love her and look out for her?

"I know what I said" Elena assured him. "That I loved you and that I wanted to be with you" she reminded him. "I didn't mean it, Stefan" she told him, her eyes narrowing at him as if she was a completely different person.

Stefan took a step away from her, shaking his head. He was having a really hard time hearing her say that. She was being hurtful. Extremely hurtful, and praying on his vulnerability of being alone. Of being left by the ones who only used him. "Are you trying to push me away?" he asked her.

She stared at him without one hint of remorse. "No" she answered. Because admitting that she was trying to push him away to make the separation easier on both of them would have only made Stefan fight harder to change her mind. "I'm telling you that I don't love you, Stefan" she said, keeping her voice sincere and fighting that urge to cry. "I was heartbroken and confused and desperate after what Gregory did to me. And I jumped into your bed to make myself feel better" she told him. Stefan stepped away from her again, giving her a look that clearly illustrated how hurt he was right then. "And then all I wanted was for Gregory to hate the idea of you and me together" she told him, taking a step closer to him. "I threw it in his face that we were sleeping together" she said, not even showing a hint of guilt for doing what she claimed to have done. "I used you Stefan. Just like the others" she told him, adding more salt the wound she had already opened. "I used you to hurt Gregory. To get back at him for hurting me."

"Stop it" he told her, his voice shaking as he listened to her. He continued to back away from her slowly. "Just stop it" he repeated.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it Stefan?" she asked, her voice emotionless. "But now, I don't need you to hurt Gregory anymore. Now, I have the chance to hurt him by turning him in for fraud" she explained. "So I'm cutting you loose. Go, be free. Find some other girl who will probably end up using you and dumping you too" she said, throwing that in his face for good measure.

The last goddamned thing she expected in that moment was to see him cry. She wasn't even sure if he knew he was crying. "Did you mean anything you told me while we were together?" he asked, his eyes having that lost look to them. He needed to know that she had been truthful about some things she had said to him.

Elena stared at him for a moment, thinking of an answer that was as equally hurtful as anything else she had said that evening. "You were good in bed" she told him, not even blinking an eye.

He shook his head and choked back a few sobs. "You're lying" he told her. He couldn't believe that she meant any of this.

She stepped towards him again and looked into his eyes that were filled with unshed tears. "No, Stefan. I don't love you, I never did. I don't want to be with you, and I never wanted to be" she told him venomously. "So when I walk out that door" she said, pointing to his front door. "I don't want to ever see you or talk to you again" she told him. "I want to forget that I ever knew you."

He was frozen, paralyzed even. So she moved first to leave. She wasn't sure how much of any of it he believed, but she hoped she was convincing enough to get him to back off so she could report the embezzling. She was surprised though when she walked by him and he grabbed her wrist, stopping her. They weren't looking at each other, but the raw emotional tension between them was suffocating. "I meant every word I ever said to you" he said quietly. Every time he told her he loved her or how much he admired her intelligence and her passion. He meant everything. And he wouldn't take one single word back, no matter how badly she had just hurt him.

Elena kept her composure and when he let go of her wrist, she left. She walked out of his apartment and she left.

It took her four blocks before she had to pull the car over and burst into inconsolable sobs. Her whole body shook as she replayed every nasty and untrue thing she had just spoken to him. But her logic was her own and she wasn't about to argue it. Convincing him he had no future with her was going to make it a hell of a lot easier to be away from each other for the next 10 to 15 years.

At least she would know that Stefan and his family would be okay financially. That his mother would get the treatment she needed and that Bonnie and Damon's child would get everything he or she needed. And that there would be no more competitive drama between the Salvatore's and Gregory.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan hadn't moved in over an hour. He was still standing in the kitchen, replaying every word she said to him, over and over again in his mind. And every time he listened to a word that hit him particularly hard, a few tears fell.

He had been so sure that what he and Elena had was real and that she felt exactly the same way about him as he had her. But she hadn't. She had used him. Again, he had let some girl use him.

Stefan eventually got himself to move, though he felt nothing but pain. Everything hurt.

Yet, he didn't hate Elena. All he wanted to do was grab her and hold her and convince her that because he loved her so much, she should love him too.

But anger and rage were next for Stefan. After the pain. They always were.

**A/N: Uh oh.**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: Well, this update has a lot going on, but I hope it all works. I was really excited to write this one, and to continue to the next update as well.**

**Thank you for all of the reviews. I never in a million years would have thought that this story would gain so much interest :D**

**Please let me know what you think!**

Two weeks. Two weeks ago, Elena had reported herself and Gregory for embezzling money from investors for Gregory's Coffee. Elena had been taken to jail for the night until a hearing could be done the next morning. The judge had agreed to let Elena out on bail, which Damon had put up for her, and a court date was set for three weeks after the first court hearing. Elena was to stay in town and to make sure to attend the court date or face more jail time.

Gregory was at the first court appearance too. He had been arrested without warning and then got out on bail the same day that Elena had. If looks could kill, Elena would have been dead. Gregory had hired Seattle's best defense attorney, but Elena was pretty sure Gregory was looking at jail time no matter what the lawyer came up with.

For now, Elena was a sitting duck. She knew she was not welcome at the Salvatore building, even if Damon had told her she could still work there. She hadn't been sentenced yet, so she was still free to work. Clearly though, Stefan wouldn't have been as welcoming as Damon.

Elena hadn't seen Bonnie since she had dropped her off at the airport. She figured Bonnie knew exactly how Elena had treated Stefan and probably wanted nothing to do with her anymore. Elena didn't blame her.

Elena had also called her aunt Jenna to explain the situation and Jenna had cried, then immediately offered to come to Seattle. But Elena had declined her offer, promising to keep her updated.

Jenna was worried though, because Christmas less than was a week away, and Elena wasn't able to fly back home. And with the current circumstances, Elena didn't want Jenna, Jeremy or Alaric flying in for Christmas.

Elena had lied, telling her family she was going to spend Christmas with Stefan, Damon and Bonnie. She hadn't told her aunt about how horrible she had been to Stefan and how they were no longer a couple. But Jenna was much more likely to stay home if she thought otherwise.

Speaking of Stefan, Elena hadn't seen or spoken to him in two weeks. Not since she lied to his face and made him think she was just using him the whole time. He hadn't come to her first court appearance. Every day, her guilt ate away at her, but she figured it was better this way. Stefan didn't need to be a part of her legal proceedings. He needed to know he was free to move on.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Bonnie walked into Stefan's apartment to find it a complete disaster. From where she stood, she counted three holes in the wall. There were pizza boxes on the floor along with empty bottles of beer and vodka. The place was a mess, and Stefan was the tidiest person she knew. Clearly, he had been letting the place go the past few weeks on account of him being moody and depressed. He would have never admitted it though.

Bonnie could hear the TV on in his room and went to investigate. She hadn't seen much of him lately. He went to work and ignored Damon. Stefan didn't return anyone's phone calls either. So everyone just sort of left him alone. But she was worried about him. Bonnie loved him too much to watch him slip away into his own darkness.

It was different this time she noticed as she walked towards his room. All the other times when something bad had happened, like when his mother had an incident or when a girlfriend left him, he was angry for maybe a few days, and then he was sad and gloomy. But this time, it had gone on far longer than was healthy. "Knock knock" Bonnie said, tapping on his open bedroom door. He was lying on his bed watching some fishing show. "I came to see how you were holding up" she said softly, letting herself in.

Stefan's eyes never left his TV. "You came. You saw. Now get out" he told her neutrally, having no desire to talk to her or anyone for that matter.

"Stefan" she said softly. Although his words had hurt her, she didn't show it. Because she knew how badly he was hurting since his breakup with Elena.

"Just get out Bonnie" he told her, his voice strained some like he was holding back a lot of anger.

She ignored his request, choosing to walk around to his side of the bed and sit down close to him. She grabbed his hand and held on tight when he tried to rip it away from her. "I'm worried about you" she said, her voice full of fear and worry.

"Don't be" he said, leaning over some to see the TV because she was blocking it.

"Don't shut me out" Bonnie told him, looking at him as he looked away from her. He continued to ignore her. "Hey" she said, placing her hand on his cheek. He sighed and finally looked at her, though he wasn't happy about it. "I am so, so sorry about what happened with Elena" she told him. "I know that she hurt you, and I don't blame you for being angry" she told him.

"Just shut up Bonnie" he told her, completely fed up with her concern. "Stop acting like you know how I feel. If I wanted a damn therapist, I'd hire a professional" he told her, his voice harsh and his eyes cold.

She winced slightly. He had never told her to shut up before, and that had hurt. She tried to remind herself that he really was hurting, and this was his way of coping. "Maybe you should see a therapist" she said, thinking it might not be such a bad idea.

Stefan got up off of the bed quickly, intent on getting her to leave. Because he didn't want to talk about any of this. "Get the hell out!" he yelled at her, standing by the bedroom door. Bonnie didn't move though. "I mean it Bonnie. I don't want you here" he warned.

"She hurt you, Stefan. It's okay to be hurt, because you love her" she said calmly, validating his feelings.

"Stop!" he yelled suddenly, slapping a class candle holder off of the dresser he was standing next to. It was Elena's candle holder. She had put it there to decorate his room a little more.

Bonnie had jumped slightly. "You can't keep this up Stefan" Bonnie said, nearly pleading as she stood and walked towards him. "You're scaring me" she told him, her eyes glossing over because she was ready to cry.

"Then leave!" he yelled at her. "I don't want you here! How many other ways do I need to say it until you understand?" he asked angrily.

Bonnie stared at him like she didn't know him. She was crying by this point, feeling his pain as if it were her own. Never had she been so afraid for him. "I don't know what happened with the two of you, but you are hurting and you need to find a better way to cope before you do or say things you can't take back" she told him, crying softly.

Stefan just stared at her, breathing heavily because he was so out of control. He knew he was being destructive, but if he cared enough to try and stop himself, then all the pain and all the hurt and all the fear would come rushing back. And that would kill him.

"When you decide you need help, you know where to find me" she told him after a moment. Because no matter what, she would be there for him. She always had since the day she met him. Bonnie wiped at her eyes and walked by him, leaving him standing alone in his room.

He waited until he heard the front door open and then close.

And then he went back to his bed and sat down, turning the TV volume up as if nothing had happened.

His phone buzzed, indicating that he had several text messages waiting.

All were from Katherine.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Damon loosened his tie as he walked into his room, tired after a long day. He saw that Bonnie was already in bed. He went and lay down beside her, wrapping his arms around her. "You're in bed awfully early" he said, kissing the back of her head as he held her.

"I'm tired" Bonnie told him. Her conversation with Stefan earlier had drained her emotionally.

"Are you getting sick?" Damon asked, touching her forehead to check for a fever.

Bonnie eventually turned around to face him. "I'm so worried about Stefan" she told him sadly. "He's so angry and out of control."

Damon sighed. "He just needs time" he told her, grabbing her hand and rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. Damon hadn't told Bonnie much about his conversation with Elena except that he wasn't going to turn Elena or Gregory in.

"I just … I don't get why Elena would break up with him like that" she said, confusion spreading across her face. The Elena she had grown to love would have never hurt Stefan the way that she had. While Bonnie didn't know the details of the breakup, she was fairly certain that it had been a nasty one. "I just can't help but think that maybe Elena needed to push him away, and that's why she was so harsh towards him" she continued. It had been bothering her, trying to figure out Elena's motive.

"Bon, we barely know Elena" Damon said, trying to steer Bonnie away from figuring everything out. Because things were going to work out. Gregory was going to jail most likely and his company was going down with him. Stefan and Elena were over, and with Elena most likely headed to jail too, Damon didn't see the point in trying to expose Elena's true motive to Stefan. He just needed to get over it and move on.

"I know" she said sadly. She knew that they hardly knew Elena. Stefan and Elena had moved so fast into a relationship, but Bonnie just had that feeling that Elena was it for Stefan. She was a firm believer that everyone had someone they were meant to be with. And Elena was it for Stefan. "I was just so sure that they were supposed to be together. He was so happy" she said.

"Stefan will be okay" Damon said, trying his best to comfort her. "You know how he is. He gets in a mood and just needs time to pick himself back up" he reminded her. "And you need to leave him be. You can't go around playing the hero all the time."

"I just worry about him" she told Damon.

"And I love that you are so concerned for my brother, but I'm telling you, once this is all over, the court proceedings and all that, things will go back to normal" he assured her. "Just let Stefan work through this on his own for a little bit."

Bonnie didn't like Damon's approach, but the alternative was to go back to Stefan and get yelled at. "Okay" she reluctantly said.

"I'm going to go and make you tea" he told her, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Wait" Bonnie told him, grabbing onto his arm to stop him.

Damon smiled down at her, giving her a gentle kiss. "I'll be right back" he promised, trying to get up and leave again.

"I need to tell you something" she said, sighing as she did. She had waited long enough and at this point, she didn't think there would ever be a right time to tell him. Elena was in the midst of a trial for embezzlement. Stefan was as out of control as she had ever seen him. And no one was talking to anyone hardly. Life was a mess, yet there would be a baby whether they were ready or not.

"Okay" Damon said, settling back down next to her. "Should I be worried?" he asked. There had been so much tension between the two since she had gotten back from California. Honestly, he hadn't been so sure that Bonnie would come back to Seattle because of how upset she had been when she left.

Bonnie looked at him sadly. "I don't know" she told him. On the one hand, a baby was such a blessing. On the other, they weren't ready.

"You know you can tell me anything" Damon told her, grabbing her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. She did tell him everything whether he wanted to hear it or not usually.

Bonnie looked him in the eyes for a moment, reassuring herself that telling him right then was the right thing to do. "I'm pregnant" she told him. She paused for a moment, watching his reaction. He really didn't have one. Not at first. He just sort of … stared at her blankly. "Damon?" she asked after a moment.

He blinked and then sat up. "Pregnant" he said, testing the word. "Are you sure?" he asked, looking down at her.

Bonnie sat up too and nodded. "I went to the doctor to confirm it" she told him.

"I'm going to be a father?" he asked. Bonnie nodded, still unsure of his reaction. But as soon as he smiled, she felt so much weight being lifted off of her shoulders. He grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her quickly. "We're going to have a baby" he told her, unable to hide his excitement. "Why would you ever hesitate to tell me something like this?" he asked, searching her eyes.

Bonnie had the saddest look on her face when she answered him. "Because our family is a mess" she told him. "Stefan is heartbroken and angry and Elena is probably going to jail. This isn't what I want our baby to know" she said sadly.

And Damon could see just how tortured she was about this. She was right. It wasn't fair to bring a baby into the world when everything around them was falling apart. And it wasn't fair to Bonnie to expect her to focus on being pregnant while she had so many other things to worry about. Damon slowly brought Bonnie into a hug and kissed the side of her head. "Families aren't perfect" he reminded her. "But we'll figure it out" he promised her.

Bonnie sighed. "I guess" she answered.

He felt a deep sense of guilt hearing her say that. Like she didn't believe him. And he had been to the one to set things off, having found out about Gregory embezzling. Maybe he needed to make things right. For everyone.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena checked her watch and saw that it was nearing six at night. She was out walking around Seattle, admiring the Christmas lights and decorations that the city had put up. Christmas was in a few days, and it made her sad to think she would be spending it by herself. She couldn't leave the state to go back home and she didn't want her family to come and see her either. It had been a real struggle to get Jenna to agree to not come, and it had taken a lot of help from Alaric to make her see that Elena just didn't want to be around anyone when things were so messed up. It might not have made sense to everyone, but it was what Elena needed. Jenna still didn't know about the breakup either.

So when Elena's phone rang and she saw that it was Damon, she almost didn't pick up. But he had put up her bail money so she wouldn't have to spend time in jail until the next court date. "Hi Damon" Elena said, trying her best to not sound depressed.

"I need you to let go of your current lawyer and meet with my new lawyer" he told her, not bothering with a greeting.

Elena sighed. "My lawyer is just fine, Damon" she told him. Either way, she was screwed, no matter who was her lawyer.

"Trust me Elena. My guy is the best of the best. Better than Gregory's too" he said, needing to one up Gregory in that department too.

"I appreciate the offer, Damon. But I'm not switching lawyers" she told him. "Look, I have to go" she told him, needing to get off the phone with him. Because she didn't want to talk about any of this anymore.

"He's miserable, you know" Damon told her suddenly, and it cut into her like a sharp knife. She hadn't heard from Stefan since she had told him she only used him to get back at Gregory. "I get what you were trying to do, Elena. But it didn't work. He's not going to move on" he said, taking back his own words that he had told Bonnie earlier. "I think you should tell Stefan the truth. Tell him why you turned yourself in and why you broke up with him" he told her. Because Damon needed things to be better for his family. For Bonnie and the baby. For himself too.

She gripped her phone tight and closed her eyes, willing the lump in her throat and the tears in her eyes to vanish. She wasn't going to divert from her plan. "Goodbye Damon" she told him, hanging up.

The lump was still in her throat as she continued walking, needing to find her car and go home. Her intent had been to hurt Stefan to push him away, but if Damon was right and Stefan wasn't going to move on, then her plan had been poorly thought out. But she had been desperate and that was all she could think to do at the time.

As she walked, she could feel someone approaching her. In downtown Seattle, there was no telling who you would run into at night. When she turned around to confront whoever it was, her heart dropped immediately. Even a mugger would have been a safer bet than Gregory. His deadly eyes nearly paralyzed her. "We need to talk" he told her.

Elena swallowed past the still ever present lump in her throat. He was angry. She knew that when she saw him in court a few weeks ago. He had been completely blindsided by her, turning them both in for embezzlement. She was actually surprised he hadn't confronted her sooner. "Not without my lawyer present" she told him, backing up a few steps.

He didn't seem pleased with her answer. "You are a deceiving, manipulative little bitch, you know that?" he told her.

"And you're a liar and a thief" Elena challenged. "Guess we're not that different after all" she added.

"You think I'm going to lose my company because of this?" he asked her. "You have no idea what my lawyer and I have in store for you" he told her.

"We'll see" Elena told him, stepping away from him again and turning to cross the street to find her car. She was a little worried that there was no one around, but she also knew that Gregory wouldn't be stupid enough to do anything to her with the upcoming trial.

But she began to doubt herself when she felt his hand on her upper arm, turning her back around to face him. And he was mad as hell. "I wasn't done talking to you" he informed her. She tried not to show any fear, but it was becoming harder when he had such a tight grip on her arm and he was standing over her. "Let's go for a ride" he told her. From that close, she could smell the alcohol on his breath. He had been drinking.

Elena shook her head. "No" she told him. "Let me go" she warned.

"Shut up Elena" he said, pushing her forward towards his car parked along the street.

"Stop!" she begged, feeling completely overpowered by him. "Gregory, let me go!" she told him, attempting to use her free arm to swing back and hit him.

He shoved her into the outside of his car though and she felt her head collide against the window. Not hard enough to shatter it, but hard enough to put her into shock just long enough for him to get the door open and shove her in. She immediately tried to open the door and get back out, but he had the child safety lock on, and the only way she was going to get out was if she could get to the controls on his side of the car. Panic immediately set in as he got in the car and started it up. "Sometimes you make life harder for yourself than it needs to be Elena" he told her, pulling away from the curb. She quickly buckled herself in.

Elena reached her fingers up to her head where it was throbbing. When she pulled her hand away, she saw that there was blood on her fingers. Not a lot, but enough to prove that she had been shoved pretty hard into the window. "Where are we going?" she asked, as calmly as she could.

"That's not important" he told her, heading for the freeway. Her heart was beating so hard in her chest that she wondered if he could hear it. Probably not. He never paid attention to her that closely. Once they were on the freeway, she noticed that his car accelerated. Much faster than the speed limit. But he didn't seem to care. "You and I both know that embezzling was what made us reach the top so quickly" he told her, accelerating the car even more. "We didn't hurt anyone Elena. They all got their money back and then some" he added.

Elena watched him take out a bottle of whiskey from down by his feet and take two drinks from it. "You've been drinking" Elena told him. She had been right earlier when she had smelled it.

He let out manic-like chuckle before taking another drink. "Drinking clears my mind" he informed her. "It makes me remember what I really want in life."

"Gregory, pull over" Elena told him. She wasn't sure how much he had been drinking, but if the half empty bottle of whiskey was any indication, she shouldn't have been in the car with him driving.

"You've got nothing to worry about" he told her, drunkenly brushing off her demand. "You need to relax, Elena. Enjoy the ride, because you will be behind bars for quite some time" he said, taking yet another drink.

Elena reached over and grabbed for the bottle, but he wasn't giving it up. He swerved dangerously close to the guardrail as he fought Elena off. She immediately let go and dug her hands into her seat, preparing for them to crash.

They didn't though. He regained control of his steering and continued on his way. "Well that was close" he smirked, looking over at a terrified Elena before laughing.

Tears welled up in her eyes as fear consumed her. "Gregory please pull over" she pleaded, realizing just how scared she was.

"Why would I do that?" he asked. "I haven't gotten to spend time with you alone in ages" he reminded her, taking another drink from his bottle. "Kinda hard to when you've been playing house with that Salvatore loser" he added.

"Gregory, please" she tried to reason with him. "Just pull over. We can talk about whatever you want, just please, stop the car" she said, pleading again.

"You know what I want to talk about, Elena?" he asked. "I want to talk about how you blindsided me by reporting the embezzling" he said. "Imagine my surprise when I get a visit from federal law enforcement officers stating that I am under arrest for fraud" he said angrily.

Elena could feel his anger building and she knew she needed to somehow deescalate him. "I'm sorry" she said, not sure what else to say.

"You're sorry" he said, laughing like he didn't believe her. "Being sorry doesn't get you anywhere in life Elena. It only makes you weak" he told her.

Elena noticed snow on the side of the road. There hadn't been any snow when they left Seattle. They must have been heading East towards the mountain pass. And he was doing way over the speed limit by that point. Slowly, she reached into her sweater pocket to grab her phone. He was still going on and on about how weak she was and how she would never make it in the business world. But when he saw the light on her phone, he completely freaked out on her.

"What the hell are you doing!" he yelled at her, reaching over her and trying to grab her phone. The car swerved some more and he knocked her phone out of her hand before she could dial. It fell to the floor and she knew if she went down to grab it, he would try and stop her.

"You're going to crash us!" she yelled at him, finally letting her tears silently escape.

"Damnit Elena!" he yelled, turning off of the freeway. When he got to the end of the off ramp, he made a left and continued on his way. "You make me so, angry" he said, and Elena could tell that he was starting to get emotional. "All I ever wanted was for us to build a powerful, successful company" he said, and Elena could see that he was starting to cry now. "That's all I ever wanted" he told her, turning off onto another road. "But you didn't want that, did you?" he asked her. Now he just wasn't making sense. He had fired her. He hadn't wanted her.

"Gregory you have to pull the car over" she told him, doing her best to hide how scared she was.

"I'm not pulling the fucking car over Elena!" he suddenly yelled. She jumped slightly at his angry outburst. Gregory stepped on the accelerator and the car quickly went from 50 mph to 80 mph. The road they were on was narrow and winding and Elena knew right away that they were going too fast. The further they travelled along the road, the more snow she saw. And now there was snow and probably ice on the road too.

"Stop the car!" she told him firmly. He sped up even more just to spite her. "Stop the car!" she screamed at him, bursting into tears. He didn't though. He kept going, swerving as he did because he couldn't focus long enough to keep the car in between the lines. "You're going to kill us!" she screamed at him again, feeling her cheeks burning hot from her tears and her fear and panic.

"Maybe we both should die" Gregory said, crying with her now. "Death would be better than jail Elena" he told her sobbing, staring ahead like a complete madman.

"Gregory please stop! You're scaring me!" she cried out.

"Why does he get you, huh?" Gregory asked, turning angry again. "I made you who you are and then he just comes in and takes you from me!" he yelled at her.

"I'm not with him anymore!" Elena cried, trying to reason with him just enough to get him to stop the car.

"Don't lie to me!" he yelled at her, slamming his hands on his steering wheel.

"Please stop the car" she begged, breaking down completely as she watched the man next to her completely out of control. Her breathing was erratic as she realized just how much danger she was in. He was going to kill them both, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"You want me to stop the car, huh?" he asked angrily. He slammed on the brakes suddenly, and the car threw her forward some.

But that was nothing compared to the fear she felt when the tires were spinning on nothing but ice and the car was sliding sideways.

She couldn't scream. Not when the car ran into the median and spun in another direction.

Not when the car was turning on its side and flipping over.

Not when the top of the car was skidding across the road, resting in the snow-covered ditch.

She didn't scream when the car slid to a stop either.

Because when it was over, everything went black.

**A/N: Did anyone expect that to happen when you first started reading this update? **

**I will go and hide now. **


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: Well, here it is! Enjoy and please let me know what you think!**

_It was slow and sensual, the way he kissed her. It was like he couldn't pull her any closer to him, but he needed her closer. _

_It was just a couch they were laying on, in the middle of a rainy Sunday afternoon. Dinner needed to be started and they needed to discuss a few things before work the next day, but neither could honestly move from where they were._

_While neither one knew it, both were thinking about when this would all end. When one would get bored with the other or when lazy Sunday afternoons on the couch together kissing slowly wouldn't be a priority anymore._

"_What if we got married?" he had asked, momentarily taking a break from her lips. He still held her against him as he brushed a piece of hair out of her face._

_She simply had smiled at him and laughed softly. "When?" she asked, thinking she was playing along. _

"_Today. Tomorrow. Definitely by this time next year" he had answered, brushing his thumb across her cheek before dipping his head down to capture her lips again, not letting her answer him right away._

"_You're crazy" she breathed, taking her chance to catch her breath after he had just taken it away. Again. "We've only known each other a few months" she had reminded._

_He smiled softly at her, resting his forehead against hers. "Sometimes you just know when something feels right" he had told her. His honesty had hit her and hard._

_They did feel right. Everything about him made her either melt into a puddle on the floor or drive her insane. And that's how she knew he was worth all the effort it would take to make a relationship work. She was excited about it too._

_If someone had told her that she would have been the one to screw things up so badly, she wouldn't have believed that for a second._

The first thing she noticed when she slowly woke up was that she was coughing. Her throat was dry and she desperately wanted water. Or something to make the scratching feeling go away.

There was a distinctive smell all around her, like metal had been dragged across pavement over and over again until it made a burning smell. It was nauseating, but she couldn't detect where it was coming from right away.

Her head was pounding. Like someone was sitting over her, hitting her in the head at a steady pace. Every now and then, a sharp pain would appear too.

Her face stung and she didn't know why. But it hurt and she wondered where Stefan was. Why had she been dreaming about the time when he had suggested they get married?

Then there was her leg. Her leg felt numb, like someone was standing on top of her.

She didn't know where she was, or why she was feeling the way she was. But everything hurt. She couldn't ever remember feeling so much at once.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Elena's eyes adjusted to the dark so she could see around her. For a moment, she stopped breathing as she prepared herself for what she was realizing.

Everything was upside down, because she was hanging upside down. Her seatbelt was keeping her from falling on her head.

Elena looked out her broken window and saw the paved road mere inches from her face. There was snow too. Some on the road and even more off to the side. It was cold. She was cold.

Slowly, Elena turned her head back so she was facing forward again. That's when she saw red splattered all over the dashboard in front of her. Her jeans were stained in red too.

Blood. So much blood. Her blood? She didn't know. But it was all over her. She held her hands out in front of her and they shook violently as she examined all of the blood on them. The blood splatter trailed up the sleeves on her jacket as well.

The blood triggered her memory of the accident. Her yelling stop and the car hitting something before flipping over. Then she froze, hanging there paralyzed.

Slowly, she looked to her left and saw Gregory hanging upside down too, his head turned slightly and his body limp. He didn't look like he was breathing. Maybe he was, but she didn't think so. There was a lot of blood around him too. There was blood everywhere.

A terrified sob escaped her as she turned her head away from him. The thought of a dead person less than a foot away from her terrified her. She braced her hands against the top of the car and tried to maneuver herself out of her seat. She had to get out of there. "Ahh" she gasped, feeling a sharp pain coming from her left leg. She looked and saw that the entire front of the car had caved in and pinned her leg down against the seat. The more she pulled, the more pain she felt. She was stuck. He couldn't be dead. Because she was stuck in the car and she could not be stuck in a car with a dead person.

"Gregory?" she cried softly, reaching over and shaking him. He didn't wake up. The more she tried to wake him, the more convinced she was that he was dead. "Oh God" she cried, truly believing that she was trapped in a car with a dead person. Elena bravely reached her hand over and grabbed his wrist, checking for a pulse like she had learned to do so many times in those mandatory CPR classes she had to take. She could feel a slow pulse. He was still alive, but probably barely. She turned away from him and closed her eyes.

He felt so cold and he would need help soon. She would need help soon.

When she did open her eyes a few minutes later, she remembered that she had her phone. Somewhere. Elena looked around her, but didn't see it. It probably had gone flying when the car flipped. She searched behind her as best as she could, but found her phone lying outside of the car, nearly out of arms reach.

Elena reached her arm out of the window, careful not to run her arm across the broken glass. She stretched her arm as far as it would go, leaning her body as much as she could. She still couldn't reach it. "Please" she whimpered, needing to reach her phone. It was her only hope at getting out of there alive. Tears fell down her cheeks again as she strained her body even more, feeling as though something in her leg was tearing the farther she leaned her body out the window.

When her fingers touched the banged up phone, she carefully dragged it closer to her until her hand firmly grasped it. The screen was cracked some, but she could still make a phone call. She took note of the time. She must have been passed out for nearly half an hour if she remembered the time of the crash correctly.

It was hard to dial the correct number when her eyes were clouded with tears. But she did it. She held the phone up to her ear and it rang five times before going to voicemail. She hung up and redialed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan pulled his phone out of his pocket reluctantly and saw that it was Elena calling. He ignored her call. And the next four times she called right after that. He tossed his phone back onto his desk. "Who is that?" Damon asked, hearing his brother's phone ring out. They both were still in Stefan's office, preparing for a conference call the next day. Stefan had forgotten how much work prepping for conference calls was, seeing as how Elena had been doing most of them.

"No one" Stefan grumbled. He went back to his computer and began typing away. He needed a distraction now that Elena was suddenly on his mind again. That was a lie. She had been on his mind since she said she was only using him and then walked out on him. No matter what he did, he couldn't stop thinking about her, and it was pissing him off.

Damon's phone rang out and he looked at the screen, thinking it was Bonnie. It wasn't though. He accepted the call, somewhat confused. "Elena?" he said, wondering why she was calling him back that evening after practically brushing him off earlier. Stefan tried not to seem interested, though he was annoyed that Elena was calling his brother. Did she not understand that he didn't want to talk to her? Stefan was well aware that Damon had bailed Elena out of jail and had been talking with her thus far to support her through the court proceedings. Stefan wasn't happy about it.

The sound of Damon's voice was comforting and in that moment, that's what Elena needed. She felt so alone with Gregory passed out next to her. More importantly though, Damon could give Stefan a message for her. That is why she had tried calling Stefan. She needed him to know something very important. "Tell Stefan I'm sorry" Elena cried, gripping her phone tightly, sobbing as she did. Damon's eyebrow rose as he tried to understand her. She was crying too hard for him to hear her. "Tell him I didn't mean any of it" Elena cried, though her crying was turning into gasping sobs that he really couldn't understand. She was shaking so hard by this point, probably from a mixture of the cold and how scared she was.

She hadn't expected Stefan to pick up his phone and talk to her. He didn't want anything to do with her anymore, and she didn't blame him. She had wanted that, actually. So he wouldn't wait for her while she served her time in jail.

"I can't understand you" Damon told her. There was more crying sobs that he couldn't decipher and he was sure that she was trying to say something else. He pulled the phone away from his ear and held it out towards Stefan. "She's really upset and I don't know what she's trying to say" he told his brother. Damon was at a loss for what to do. Sometimes Bonnie cried like that too and Stefan was the only one who could understand her. It was like a skill he possessed or something.

"Not my problem anymore" Stefan said, pushing Damon's phone away. He just plain didn't care anymore. Or rather, he didn't want to care anymore. Elena had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want him in her life. That she never had. So, for all he cared, she could go crying for someone else.

"Stefan, you need to talk to her!" Damon nearly yelled at him. Damon was worried, and when he got worried, he didn't handle it very well. Stefan continued to ignore him though. "There's things you don't know" Damon told him. There were a lot of things Stefan didn't know, actually.

That seemed to get Stefan's attention, though he still hesitated to take the phone. He glared at Damon who encouraged him again to take the phone. Finally, Stefan took his brother's phone. "What Elena?" he barked into the phone, dead set on being angry and standoffish with her.

Her heart nearly stopped when she heard his voice. Though, it only made her cry harder because she could hear him, yet he wasn't right there next to her. "I'm so … so sorry" she cried hysterically into her phone. Stefan had to pull the phone away slightly because she was so loud.

He sighed. "Are you drunk Elena?" he asked. Maybe she had been drinking and that's why she was so emotional. He had seen her this way once before. He wasn't going to feel sorry for her though and he sure as hell wasn't going to rush to her side to help her.

Elena ignored his question though because she had so much more to say to him. "I didn't mean to hurt you" she continued to cry. Stefan closed his eyes, feeling his heart begin to ache, even though he didn't want it to. He didn't want to care about her or why she was so upset. "I need you to know that Stefan. I love you so much, but there's … God there's so much blood. It's everywhere and I just …"she cried, trailing off and completely changing the subject without even knowing it.

Stefan's eyes shot open instantly. Although he could barely understand her hysterical crying, he did and he knew she had said there was blood and a lot of it. "Elena, what happened?" Stefan asked, suddenly feeling like there was more to this situation than he first had thought. Something wasn't right.

She cried harder. "I told him to stop Stefan. But he wouldn't. He wouldn't stop and then … there's glass everywhere Stefan and I … I can't get out. I can't get out Stefan" she sobbed. Because she wanted out of that car more than anything.

She wasn't making sense. She was going from one thing to the next and quite frankly, he was beyond terrified now. He quickly put the phone on speaker so his brother could hear. Damon was already hovering, trying to figure out what was going on. "Elena, I need you to listen to me, okay?" he asked her. He had to get her calm enough to tell him where she was.

"I was lying Stefan" she said, closing her eyes as her crying continued. She couldn't calm down. She was already worked up. "I never used you. I just didn't know what else to do" she cried sadly, needing him to believe her.

Stefan felt that tug in his heart just a little more as he continued to listen to her. "Elena, where are you?" he tried again as soon as her sobs lessened. While he was interested in what she was saying, the important thing was to figure out where she was and to make sure she was okay.

This question only served to upset her even more. "I don't know" she cried out. Because she didn't.

Stefan mentally cursed because her not knowing wasn't going to help them any. "Elena are you hurt?" he asked.

"My leg is stuck" she cried. Then she looked around again and realized she was still in the overturned car. "The car's upside down!" she cried out, feeling the panic take over her once again. Her sobs came back and anything she said, Stefan couldn't understand this time.

Stefan looked at Damon and they both knew. Car accident. "Elena, I need you to slow down so I can hear you" he told her calmly. "You said someone wouldn't stop. Who wouldn't stop Elena?" he asked.

There were a few muffled cries before she answered. "Gregory. He was driving and I told him to stop" she said, getting herself worked up again. She touched Gregory's hand again to make sure he was still breathing. She couldn't feel a pulse. "Gregory?" Elena asked. She shook him hard. "Stefan he's … he's not waking up" Elena said, beginning to cry all over again. "I can't get him to wake up" she said, falling apart on the phone once more.

Stefan's chest felt heavy and he could see Damon's worried eyes looking right into his. "Elena, I need you to listen to me carefully" he said as calmly as he could. When really, he was anything but calm.

"Stefan please help me" she cried, closing her eyes. "Please help me. I need to get out of this car. I can't stay in here!" she cried hysterically. She tugged on her leg a few times and hollered out in pain. It was no use. She was still stuck.

"Elena" Stefan tried again, but she continued to cry.

"I want out of here!" she yelled into the phone. She was in full on panic mode by this point. "Please, help me" she cried, placing her hand over her face to try and shield herself from the nightmare she was living. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Elena, I know you're scared" Damon said, finally speaking up when Stefan couldn't gain control over the situation. "But we're going to help you. You need to calm down and listen to us, okay?" he asked her.

"Please come get me" she cried desperately.

If Stefan's heart wasn't already shattered, it was right then. To hear her so distraught and desperate. "I'm going to come and get you" Stefan assured her, earning him an approving look from Damon. "But here's what I need you to do. I need you to turn on the GPS on your phone and get a location for me, okay?" he told her. "And then I'm going to call for help and come and get you" he said slowly.

"I'm so sorry" she said, her crying becoming less intense. It almost sounded as if she were tiring.

More ache in his heart. "I know you are" he told her, not knowing what else to say. "Please, can you turn on the GPS and get a location for me?" he asked.

He could hear her sniffling and a few noises coming from buttons she was pushing on her phone. It took less than a minute, but it felt like a lot longer because he was so worried. She rattled off the exact coordinates that the GPS gave and Damon quickly punched them into Stefan's phone. "That's heading towards Snoqualmie Pass" Damon said, looking at his brother with even more concern. That meant colder temperatures.

"Call 911" Stefan instructed and Damon quickly walked to the other side of the road to do so. Stefan grabbed his jacket and was heading out of the office. "Elena, I want you to stay still. Don't move. I'm coming to get you right now" he informed her, running down the hall. Stefan could hear Damon calling after him. "I need you to hang on."

She cried softly as she listened to him, feeling some sense of relief that she wouldn't be alone for much longer. "I can't" she cried, tilting her head to the side, away from Gregory.

"Yes you can" he told her, beeping his car as he ran outside. "I'm getting in the car right now" he promised, and she could hear the door shutting. Just as he was about to pull out, Damon was climbing into the car with him. They didn't exchange words, but both had a knowing look.

Right now, the company, the finances, the trial, the anger and the stress. None of it mattered. Not when Elena's life was at stake.

**A/N: Just to be clear, this does not mean that things between Stefan and Elena are instantly fixed or resolved. I was trying to portray Stefan's reaction while he was experiencing Elena's crisis, thus having him run to her.**

**But I hope you still enjoyed it nonetheless :D**


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: Please let me know what you think!**

**I'm not sure how many more updates there will be for this story, but I am thinking not a lot. Five or less maybe? But who knows. That would just mean that I start a new story. Because I can't quit on you all just yet ;) **

Damon didn't bother saying anything as they drove towards Snoqualmie. Stefan had a death grip on the steering wheel and his eyes were glued on the road ahead of him. Once in a while, Stefan would glance in his mirrors to see if there was an ambulance or some other medical vehicle coming. There wasn't though.

Damon knew Stefan was mentally freaking out and he didn't know what to say to make it any better. "She was conscious after the crash when she called. She'll be okay" Damon said finally, not really sure whether that statement would help or not.

"Just look for the exit" Stefan said, ignoring his brother's comment. Because that fact had been running through Stefan's mind since he got in the car. Yes, she was conscious. But she might not be when he got to her.

Damon remained quiet after that, knowing his brother was too much on edge to have a conversation with him. Damon kept his eyes peeled for the exit, looking back and forth from the road to the GPS on his phone. "Hey, take this exit coming up" he told Stefan, zooming in on the phone. Stefan sped off the freeway and slowed to a stop at the end of the ramp. "Go left" Damon instructed. Then he swallowed. "Should be somewhere on this road" he added cautiously.

Stefan braced himself. At any moment, he could come across the accident. He wasn't surprised that no one else hadn't found Elena. The road was isolated the longer you drove on it.

He didn't really know what he would see and that terrified him more than anything. Not knowing was killing him.

Damon kept his eyes open too. "You remember how I told you there were things you didn't know?" Damon asked quietly.

"I don't want to know" Stefan said quickly, cutting his brother off. "She can tell me. When this is all over with, she can tell me everything" he told him. And that was the way it was going to be.

Damon could hear his brother's voice cracking slightly as he talked about Elena. "That's fair" Damon replied.

It was about fifteen minutes later when the car lights shown on Gregory's overturned black Lexus. Stefan slowed to a stop, but his heart sped up. "Grab the flares" Stefan told his brother. Just in case another car drove by, he didn't need a car slamming into them. It would also warn the emergency vehicles.

Stefan was out of the car quick as lightening after that, running to the passenger side of the car. "Elena" he said breathlessly, falling to the ground so he could see into the car. His heart nearly dropped into his stomach when he saw her in there, trapped and helpless.

She looked ghostly white as she stared at him. Then she burst into tears. "Stefan" she cried, reaching her hand out the window for him. She just needed to touch him and make sure he was really there.

He didn't hesitate to grab her hand. "I'm here" he assured her, placing his other hand on her face gently as he examined her. She had cuts and scrapes all over her face, her arms and her hands. He glanced down at her leg and saw that it was trapped, just like she had told him.

"Please get me out of here" she cried, closing her eyes and leaning into his touch. She couldn't take it anymore.

Stefan examined the situation and it wasn't good. The entire front end of the car was caved in, pinning both she and Gregory. Not that he gave a damn about Gregory. "You need to just stay still until help arrives" he told her. He was afraid to move her and cause her more injury.

She shook her head no though. "I need out of here. Please just get me out" she begged, grabbing onto his arms to try and pull herself out of the car. That pain in her leg resurfaced in her attempt and she cried out.

"Shh shh shh" he told her, resting his head against hers. "Help will be here soon" he told her, hearing Damon approach behind him.

"I set up the flares" Damon informed. Then he knelt down near his brother. "How you doin' Elena?" he asked.

Stefan could have kicked his brother for asking such a stupid question, but Elena actually laughed slightly through her tears. "I've been better" she said, holding onto Stefan. The last thing she wanted was for him to move away from her. Then her tears came back in full force. "Is he dead?" Elena asked, not being able to look over at Gregory. She hadn't been able to look at him for a while as she sat there in the darkness by herself.

"I'll check" Damon said as if it were no big deal. He stood up and walked around the car. He bent down and placed his fingers on Gregory's neck. "Nah. He's still alive" he announced. "Shame" Damon muttered to himself. He smacked Gregory's face some. "Hey, wake up Jackass" Damon told him. Nothing. "I think he's out for a while" Damon said, getting up and walking back to Elena and Stefan.

"It won't be much longer" Stefan told Elena, being as attentive towards her as he could. His cheek brushed against hers and she felt extremely cold now. "Damon, go and get a blanket out of my car" he instructed.

Elena closed her eyes and focused on Stefan. Her breathing eventually matched with his and her tears dried. She was exhausted. Emotionally and physically exhausted. Stefan took the blanket from Damon and placed it over Elena before moving close to her again. She shivered slightly. "Thank, thank you for coming" she mumbled against his face that was so close to hers. She knew she didn't deserve his presence, but she was happy to have it.

He didn't know what to say to that. He hadn't questioned whether or not he would go to her. But he was still hurt by what she had done to him. His need to keep her safe and his need to protect himself from her were a serious conflict for him, but being right there with her made sense. "I wouldn't be anywhere else right now" he told her.

She sighed sadly. "I'm scared" she whispered. This whole ordeal was far from over. Thankfully, the emergency vehicle sirens could be heard in the near distance.

Stefan pressed his lips against the side of her head firmly. "I'm right here" he reminded her. "You're going to be just fine" he promised.

"I love you" she whispered. Because if things didn't work out for her, she needed him to know that she loved him. Stefan didn't reply, but she didn't expect him to.

"I see them" Damon said, referring to the emergency vehicles. He ran towards them, waving them down.

Stefan remained with Elena until he was told to step back. She had protested and it broke his heart that he couldn't go back to her. Stefan had to turn away as they used various tools and machinery to pry the car apart to get Elena out.

Once she was out though, Stefan was right by her side as they wheeled her away on the stretcher. She had a death grip on his hand the entire time, until the medics stopped Stefan. "We have two people to transport, so you'll need to ride separately" Stefan was told.

Elena couldn't scream out because of her oxygen mask, but Stefan could see the tears rolling down her cheeks as Stefan had to let go of her hand and step back. Quite frankly, Stefan didn't understand why they couldn't have just left Gregory behind. "It's okay Elena!" Stefan called out. "I'll see you at the hospital" he told her reluctantly. His own anxiety set in at the fact that he couldn't be with her.

It wasn't until Damon's hand touched his shoulder that Stefan focused on something else besides Elena. "Let's go" Damon said, walking with Stefan back to the car.

Damon drove, because Stefan couldn't stop thinking about Elena. "She told me she loves me" Stefan said, thinking back to how she had whispered it.

Damon looked at Stefan briefly. "She does" Damon confirmed.

Stefan leaned his head against the window and remained silent. He knew this wasn't his fault.

But he felt like it was.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan was pacing, like he had been the past six hours. No one would tell him anything because he wasn't Elena's family. And that had pissed him off to no end. He understood that it was hospital policy. But at the same time, the woman he loved was undergoing surgery on her knee due to extensive bleeding and swelling and no one could tell him how she was doing.

Hospital staff said that Elena, when she was feeling up to it, could request to see him. Until then, he would have to sit tight.

No one was in the waiting area since it was just after four in the morning. Everyone had either gone home or they were in a patient's room, watching over a loved one. Stefan didn't want to go home and Damon didn't fight him on it.

"Did you call her family?" Bonnie asked softly from behind him.

The tension in his shoulders seemed to only increase when he heard Bonnie. The last time he saw her, he had been so horrible to her. Damon mentioned that he was going to call her, but he wasn't expecting her to show up at four in the morning. "Yeah" he said, his exhaustion evident.

Bonnie set the two cups down she was carrying and walked in front of him. She took his face in her hands gently and waited for him to look down at her. "The important thing is that Elena knows you're here. She knows you're thinking about her" Bonnie told him, trying to relieve some of his stress.

She hadn't meant to make him cry. "If something happened to her, and we didn't get the chance to make things right …" he said, trailing off as he closed his eyes, letting his tears fall. Because that thought that he had stuck in his mind was destroying him.

Bonnie didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around him and hold him. "Don't think like that" she whispered, letting her own tears fall now. Although she had been so angry with Elena for what she had done to Stefan, Bonnie wasn't angry anymore. Damon had told her everything the moment he had walked into their house and told Bonnie what had happened to Elena. "Come sit down" she told him, feeling his weight heavy against her and afraid that he would collapse to the floor.

Reluctantly, Stefan moved with Bonnie and sat down. He accepted the cup of coffee Bonnie was offering. His tears had stopped, but he was pretty sure they could easily start back up again at any time. "Her family should be here in a few hours" Stefan said, trying to distract himself. "You should go home and go back to bed" he told her. No sense in them both losing sleep. Damon would probably return later in the morning anyway.

Bonnie placed her hand on his arm and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I don't want you to be alone" she told him. He still didn't know about the baby, and she figured it wasn't fair to expect him to be happy about it when he was so worried about Elena.

"I just don't want her to wake up alone" Stefan said, wringing his hands together as he stared ahead at the clock on the wall. He didn't want her to be scared or confused.

"Like I said. She knows you're here. And I'm sure the nursing staff will remind her, since you've probably bugged them about a hundred times already" she said, smiling because she knew him so well.

"At least" Stefan said.

"Try and rest your eyes at least" Bonnie said, rubbing his arm. "At least until her family arrives."

But he didn't. He couldn't. Not when he didn't know what was going on.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was late morning when Stefan was woken up by a small group of people walking towards the nurse's desk. He recognized Elena's family almost instantly and jumped up, hoping he could get them to tell him what was happening with Elena. "My niece, Elena Gilbert" Jenna said, pulling out her ID for the nurse.

The nurse typed away at her computer. "Miss Gilbert got out of surgery about an hour ago to repair her left knee that was crushed in the accident. You can go on back and see her now. She may or may not be awake yet" the nurse said.

A long relieved sigh escaped Jenna. "Thank you so much" Jenna told her. It could have been so much worse than it was. She turned around and noticed him standing there. "Stefan" Jenna said, grabbing him and hugging him. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

He shook his head no. "They won't tell me anything" Stefan told her sadly. "I've been sitting here for hours not knowing if she was okay or not" he explained.

"I'll make sure you stay informed" she promised. She pulled away from Stefan and wiped her eyes. "I just can't believe any of this. The trial and now this accident? What else can go wrong?" she asked. Stefan could tell she was staying strong, but that at any moment, she could crumple to the floor in a mess of tears.

Alaric wrapped his arms around her. "Nothing" he said, kissing the top of her head. "Why don't you and Jeremy go back and see Elena" he suggested.

Stefan couldn't help the disappointed look he sported. Yes, Jenna and Jeremy needed to go back and see Elena. But Stefan did too.

"Thank you" Jenna told Alaric. She grabbed Jeremy's hand and walked with Jeremy, who had been extremely quiet.

Stefan wandered back over to his chair and sat down. Alaric followed him. "I'm sure you can see her when they're done" Alaric said, having picked up on Stefan's disappointment. "They've just been so worried about her. I figured they needed some time alone."

"I know" Stefan said, thinking he should really stop feeling so hurt. "I'm just gonna …" he said, pointing down the hall. He stood and began walking away, not really knowing where he was going, but not wanting to stay and make small talk with Alaric. Stefan told himself he'd come back in an hour.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan downed the rest of his coffee and tossed the paper cup on his way back to the waiting room. He had gone walking around Seattle for the entire hour, even though it was frigid cold out. He didn't seem to be bothered by it though, because he was already numb.

Jenna and Jeremy had joined Alaric in the waiting room. "There you are" Jenna said, standing. Stefan stopped in front of her. "Elena asked to see you" she told him softly.

Stefan stood numbly before her. He wanted to see Elena more than anything, yet he was scared to see her too. Because eventually, they would have to talk about everything that had happened. That was happening currently. "Okay" was the only thing he said. He remembered the room number that Jenna had rattled off as he was led through the doors.

He stopped outside of her room and watched her through the window. She looked like she was sleeping. Quietly, he let himself into her room and shut the door behind him. He really did think she was sleeping, until Elena's arm slowly reached out towards him, her hand opening weakly.

Stefan didn't even remember telling himself to move towards her, but in a matter of seconds, he was holding her hand and sitting next to her hospital bed. Her eyes slowly opened, though her eyelids were heavy and he knew she was tired. "Hi" she said sleepily.

"Hi" he barely croaked out. "How are you feeling?" he asked in a whisper.

Elena closed her eyes briefly and he could tell she was fighting to keep them open. "I'm fine" she answered, and he knew it was a loud of crap. That or she was still high on pain medicine. She closed her eyes again, this time for longer. He was pretty sure that she had gone back to sleep. That was okay with him, because she needed the rest. "I didn't do it" she whispered eventually. Stefan squeezed her hand. "I didn't mean to sign those documents" she added, just as quietly. Another wave of guilt hit him hard for thinking that she would be capable of embezzling like he had. She opened her eyes slowly again so she could look at him. "I was young. And stupid, and I didn't know what I was signing. I didn't know until you and Damon confronted me" she said in one long, painfully tiring breath. "It's no excuse, but …" she said, swallowing painfully from a dry throat. "But I didn't want you thinking I was a thief and a fraud" she finished.

Relief soon replaced guilt as he let her words sink in. It wouldn't have mattered. In the end, he would have defended her no matter what. After he got over being so hurt by her. Stefan leaned in towards her and gently placed a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you for telling me" he whispered. "I'm sorry I suspected that you might have done it" he said, feeling his guilt ease its way back into his mind.

Elena closed her eyes and smiled weakly. "I wanted you to believe it" she said, easing his worry. She had done a damn good job of leading him on too.

He remained quiet for a moment before he asked the one question that he had wanted to ask most. "You said that you lied. That you didn't use me, but that you didn't know what else to do. What did you mean?" he asked. He really shouldn't have been asking her this when she needed to sleep. But he selfishly needed to know.

"I was so hurtful" Elena said, pausing to take a small breath. "Because I knew when I went to jail, that you'd wait for me" she explained to him. "And that wouldn't have been fair to you" she told him. He felt the tears well up in his eyes, because it was painful to think that she had had his best interest at heart, and that had ultimately broken them up.

"But why even turn yourself in in the first place?" Stefan asked, wiping at a stray tear. All of this could have been prevented, right?

Elena opened her eyes again and saw that he was crying. "Don't cry, Stefan" she said softly. Then she looked at him seriously for a moment. "With Gregory's company out of the running, your family …" she trailed off, thinking about her next few words. "You could afford the treatment your mom needs" she explained. "I know … how much she means to you … how much you worry about her future. I wanted to help you" she told him honestly.

Stefan closed his eyes as his emotions took over. He couldn't believe that all this time, she had only been thinking about him and his family. "What about your future?" Stefan cried softly, still not able to look at her.

Not until she squeezed his hand and got his attention again. "I'm partly responsible for your company's downturn" she reminded him quietly. "I'm just trying to make things right" she said, completely avoiding his question regarding her future.

He took a small breath and shook his head, staring down at her with his teary eyes. "The right thing is supposed to be us. Together, buying a house, getting married, having kids" he told her sadly, not even bothering to wipe away his tears anymore. It was no use because they kept coming.

His revelation about their future brought about her own tears. "I'm sorry" she whispered. Then she closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm just so tired" she said apologetically.

He knew she was too tired to continue talking. As much as he wanted to talk to her, she just wasn't up for it. "I know" he said, replying to both of her statements. "Keep your eyes closed" he whispered, bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss. "Get some rest" he added.

Stefan stayed with her for about 20 minutes until he was sure that she was asleep. Then he got up and left. There was no sign of Jenna, Alaric or Jeremy, but Stefan was sure that they were not far. He decided that he could go and get another coffee.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was three coffees later when Stefan was on his way back to see Elena. He was walking down the hallway when he walked by another room. He cautiously glanced through the window when he suddenly stopped. It was Gregory, lying in bed, staring back at him. Stefan should have kept walking, but instead, he looked around and when he saw that no one was around, he let himself into Gregory's room.

"You here to kill me?" Gregory asked groggily with a smile. Stefan shut the door and turned back to him to glare. "She still alive?" he asked, like he felt some sort of guilt.

"No thanks to you, yeah, she is" Stefan told him, biting back his anger. Because his anger would lead him to do something stupid.

Gregory closed his eyes and smiled. "You're angry" he told Stefan.

"No I'm fucking pissed" Stefan corrected him, stepping towards his bed. "I can't stand the sight of you, you worthless piece of crap" he continued.

Gregory smiled even more. "I'm not doing so well, Stefan" he admitted. The doctors had told him as much. "I need you to tell Elena something for me."

Stefan moved closer because he was going to listen. Maybe Gregory wanted to make things right with Elena before the end. "I'm listening" he said.

Gregory looked up at Stefan. "Tell Elena … that firing her was the best decision I ever made. I never should have started a business with her" he said slowly. "And that I hope she spends the next fifteen years rotting in jail" he added, closing his eyes and smirking.

Stefan's hands clenched and he had to mentally talk himself out of strangling Gregory right then and there. Stefan bent down and got right in his face. "Look at me" he demanded. Gregory opened his eyes and looked into Stefan's angry ones. "I hope you die" he told him.

Gregory laughed. "I hope you don't regret those words" Gregory told him, just to be a smartass.

Stefan backed away from him. "The only thing I regret is not beating your ass sooner" he told him. He couldn't very well do it now when Gregory was in a hospital.

Gregory laughed. "Give my best to Elena" he told Stefan.

Stefan was already out the door though, shutting it and kicking a nearby garbage can. He hated that man more than he had ever hated anyone in his entire life. But at the same time, his priority needed to be Elena. So his hate for Gregory needed to be pushed aside. And that was going to be no easy feat.

Stefan took deep breathes as he walked away from Gregory's room. It wasn't a minute later when a rush of people – doctors and nurses – ran into Gregory's room. Stefan stuck around to see what all the commotion was. There was an excessive amount of beeping from monitors and multiple voices all working together.

It wasn't until Stefan heard a doctor pronounce Gregory dead at 3:17 PM that Stefan walked away. Gregory hadn't been kidding when he said he wasn't doing well.

Stefan didn't really know what he felt as he walked into Elena's room. She was awake, looking more alert than she had been. "Where have you been?" Elena asked. He looked so tired, so conflicted.

"I uh, I was just in with Gregory" he told her, figuring she ought to know.

Elena's eyes showed her surprise, but she tried to remain neutral. "How is he?" she asked. She didn't want to care, but she did. Because she had loved him at one point. His quiet, blank look let her know that something wasn't okay. "He's okay, right?" Elena asked.

Stefan just shook his head. "He just died, Elena" Stefan told her. "I saw him briefly, and when I left his room, doctors and nurses swarmed in. I heard them pronounce him dead." Stefan waited for her reaction. It was one of shock. Then sadness as the realization hit. Stefan couldn't help but think how much better of a person she was than him. Because Elena was feeling compassion for a man who had done so much to hurt her. "I'm sorry, Elena" he said reluctantly, because he thought she needed to hear that.

Elena's eyes got teary as she turned away from Stefan slightly. "Did he say anything, when you were with him?" Elena asked quietly.

Yeah. Gregory had said things. Stefan grabbed Elena's hand and used his other hand to touch her face gently. She looked up at him expectantly. "He told me to tell you, that he's sorry. For everything. And that he hopes you are able to move forward and live your life the way you've always dreamed of living it" he told her. When Elena began to cry, he leaned into her and kissed her cheek, finding that he needed to be close to her.

Should Stefan have told Elena what Gregory had truly said? No. Because Elena didn't deserve to be left with those hateful words that Gregory had spoken. "Hey" he said, catching her eyes with his. "You're okay. And that's all that matters" he whispered to her.

Elena let out a quiet sob. "It hurts" she told him, crying softly. "Everything hurts." Everything hurt.

Stefan moved up onto the bed with her and wrapped his arms around her. "I know" he said, holding her close. "I know" he repeated.

**A/N: I hate that I write Stefan like that and then have to think about how amazing he is and why the hell isn't he in my life?**


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: Wow! Over 1200 reviews. I am blown away by your support and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!**

**This update is a tad short, but I think it is a nice update to move things along. I read the reviews and I think I am taking the story the way that most everyone wants to see it go. For now anyways : ) **

**Enjoy!**

It was Christmas Eve. And Elena was still in the hospital. She had to have another surgery after the initial one, but the doctors had assured everyone that she would be just fine and would regain full functioning of her leg after she healed. The last few days had been rough on everyone, but Elena was in such good spirits that everyone found it hard to be so down and gloomy when around her.

Stefan knew Elena was putting on a brave face for her family though, because he had caught her crying numerous times when she hadn't noticed he was hovering near her room. It was hard to get alone time with her because Jenna was with her almost every second of the day, looking after her. At night, Jenna, Jeremy and Alaric stayed at Elena's place. Stefan rarely went home unless it was to shower.

He thought he was lucky then when he walked by her room and saw that she was awake and no one was in there with her. She smiled when she saw him, muting her TV. They hadn't really talked much about anything important the last few days, and he wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "Hey" she said innocently, very much aware of the tension that had been between them since she had been in the hospital. Because at any moment, he could want to talk about what had happened between them. Quite honestly, ignoring it all was so much easier.

"Hey" he replied, shutting her door and walking towards her bed. He sat down on the chair he had been sitting in for days, watching over her. They were silent for a few minutes, both thinking about the same thing.

So Elena brought it up first. "We have to talk about it all eventually" Elena mentioned.

Stefan nodded. "I know" he told her. "But it's Christmas" he offered. "Well, Christmas Eve I mean" he clarified.

Elena perked up some. "It is?" she asked. Stefan nodded. Her days had been confused since she was admitted to the hospital. Her sense of time was off too. Elena looked out the window and saw that it was snowing again. It had been on and off all day. "I'm not prepared for Christmas this year" she said, and he picked up the sadness in her voice. Christmas had always been so special for her.

"None of us are" he said, hoping to help her not feel so bad.

He spoke too soon though, as the door opened and in walked an Evergreen tree, followed by Damon who was struggling to get in through the narrow door. Elena sat up some, her eyes showing her surprise. She looked at Stefan who looked just as surprised as her. "Damnit" Damon muttered, backing out of the room some and then trying to get through the door again.

Finally, the tree made it through the door and Damon propped it upright for Elena and Stefan to see. Bonnie came in behind Damon, carrying two bags. "Merry Christmas!" she smiled, setting her bags down and slipping out of her jacket.

"What is this?" Elena asked. She couldn't help the smile that had spread across her face.

"Since you have to spend Christmas in here, we thought we would bring Christmas to you" Bonnie explained.

"I don't think you're allowed to bring trees in here" Stefan pointed out.

"You can if you don't get caught" Damon grinned. "Besides, no one tells my fiancé no" he added.

Bonnie just shook her head as she began opening up the bags. "Here" she said, tossing Stefan a string of Christmas lights. "Hang those up" she instructed. Then she tossed Damon a box of ornaments. "You too" she told him.

"Bonnie" Elena said, feeling both overwhelmed and excited. "You didn't have to do this" she told her.

"I wanted to" Bonnie said. "Besides, Stefan gave me the idea" she announced. Stefan froze momentarily from stringing up the Christmas lights. "He was concerned about you having to spend Christmas in the hospital, so I thought, why not have Christmas here?" she explained. "Damon and I will bring dinner tomorrow afternoon. Your aunt, Alaric and your brother already know and I think they are bringing rolls" she rattled on.

Elena had pretty much tuned Bonnie out though at the mention of Stefan's concern about her having to spend Christmas in the hospital. He still had his back to her, and she wondered what he was thinking. "This is such a surprise. Thank you guys so much" she told them.

Bonnie smiled. "You're welcome. We just want you to focus on getting better" she explained. Elena forced a fake smile, because the thought of getting better was frightening. Then it would be back to reality. Back to court and back to dealing with her breakup with Stefan that he didn't seem to want to talk about. "And I think we will let Stefan finish decorating" Bonnie said, realizing that Stefan and Elena might want alone time together since Elena's family was not around. "Come on Honey" Bonnie said, grabbing onto Damon's arm. "We have to go shopping for dinner tomorrow" she reminded. Bonnie walked over to Elena and gave her a hug. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye" Elena said, waving to them both. When they both left, Elena turned back to Stefan who was finishing up with the lights. "That's so sweet of Bonnie to do all of this, especially when she's supposed to be focused on the baby" Elena said.

The confused look Stefan had on his face let Elena know that not everyone knew about Bonnie's pregnancy. "What baby?" Stefan asked.

Elena froze. "What?" Elena asked finally, playing dumb almost instantly.

Stefan pointed at her. "You said baby. What baby?" he asked, not letting the topic get dropped.

Elena picked at the sheets that were covering her. She had overstepped her boundaries big time and the last thing she needed was another strike against her in that family. "I shouldn't have said anything" Elena said, finally looking up at him. Then she sighed because she knew she needed to tell him now. "The night Bonnie spent the night with me, she told me she was pregnant."

Stefan was quiet for a moment as he let the news sink in. "Does my brother know?" he asked.

Elena shrugged. "She said she would tell him. But I don't know if she did yet" she answered.

Stefan sat down in a chair next to her bed. She looked over at him nervously and saw that he was smiling some. "I'm going to be an uncle" he said. He had thought about it for a while now, knowing that Bonnie and Damon would definitely have children at some point.

She watched him for a moment, taking his reaction in. "You look happy" she said.

"About being an uncle? Yeah, I am" he admitted. "I'm not happy about anything else right now" he told her.

And she knew she was the root of all of that unhappiness as of late. "Could you ever forgive me?" Elena asked quietly. She wouldn't look at him, because if he said no, she didn't want the memory of how he looked at her, engrained in her brain for the rest of her life.

But he wasn't going to have any of that. He brushed is hand over her forehead, carefully navigating around the bandages. Elena looked up at him carefully. "I forgive you" he said. Quick and painless, as it should have been.

"Just like that?" she barely whispered.

He shook his head no. "I'm looking for something in return" he told her.

"What?" she asked nervously.

Stefan leaned in and rested his head against hers. She felt his lips brushing lightly against her ear. "I need you to fight like hell to clear your name" he said softly. "You told me the truth. Now you need to tell everyone else the truth as well" he added.

Elena closed her eyes and took in a calming breath. Her throat felt dry and her heart rate was increasing due to being so overwhelmed by his request. "And if my telling the truth makes no difference?" she asked. Because there was a really good chance that it wouldn't. With Gregory dead, they might go after her solely.

He kissed against her ear, needing to be that close to her because it had been so long. Of course he didn't want to think about the worst possible outcome. But he understood that it was a possibility that she would be going to jail for quite a while. "Then I'll wait for you" he told her simply. Because he had no other options. She shook her head in her attempt to tell him that he couldn't do that. She couldn't speak though, because then he would know that she was crying. But he already knew. "I love you" he whispered.

He felt her arms go around him, holding on to him as tightly as she could. "I love you too" she choked out.

He held her until she fell back asleep some two hours later. Then he slipped out of her room and told her family that he would be back later.

"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked.

Stefan turned around and looked at Elena's family who all looked so beaten down with everything that was going on. Stefan didn't feel that way anymore. Now, he was on a mission. A mission that would benefit everyone. "I'm going to find Elena the best damn lawyer in this country" he said, smiling as he turned back around and walked into the elevator.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan sat at his desk at home and focused on his computer screen. Sure, there were plenty of lawyers to choose from. But Stefan didn't just want any lawyer. He wanted the best.

Stefan picked up his phone and scrolled through the contacts until he found who he wanted. He hit send and sat the phone down, waiting. "Hello?" he heard.

"Hey Katherine" Stefan said, much more cheerfully than he had greeted anyone in the past few weeks. He couldn't see her, but he could tell she was smiling just by the tone of her voice.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked.

"I need a favor" he told her.

"I'm listening" she told him, and he knew she was smirking and twirling her hair on her finger. Classic Katherine. She loved being needed.

"I need a name of the best damn defense attorney you know" he told her. "Aggressive. Ruthless. But most importantly, one who will win" he elaborated.

Katherine chuckled on her end of the phone. "You get yourself into trouble there, Salvatore?" she asked.

"No, not me. A friend" he said, cringing at his choice in words. Elena was so much more than a friend. He loved her, for God sakes.

"Okay" Katherine said. "What are we talking here? Robbery? Kidnapping? Murder?" she asked. She had to know what she was working with.

"Embezzlement" Stefan told her. "Well, played a part in it accidentally. Wasn't responsible for it" he explained.

"Embezzlement, huh?" Katherine asked. He heard her typing on her computer and knew that she was probably working still. She always worked. "You want Richard Anderson" she told him. "Biggest asshole you'll ever meet. But a damn good lawyer when you need to get out of a financial … mishap. Anything else I can do for you?" she asked.

Stefan smiled. "Thank you Katherine. I really appreciate it" he said, hanging up the phone. His next call was to this Richard Anderson. Stefan looked up his number on the computer. He got the guy's voicemail, but he left a very detailed message, hoping he would call him back. And soon.

Stefan hung up and leaned back in his chair. It was getting late and he wanted to get back to the hospital so he could be with Elena, especially since it was Christmas Eve. But first thing was first.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The first thing Stefan smelled when he walked into Bonnie and Damon's house was something cooking. Apple pie, maybe. "Hello?" he asked.

Bonnie poked her head out of the kitchen and gave him a surprised smile. "Hey you" she said, waving with an oven mitt on her hand. "How's Elena?" she asked. Stefan walked towards her.

"Better" he told her, seeing right away that Bonnie was making small talk. "You're baking" he said.

"Yeah" she told him. "I asked Jenna what Elena's favorite kind of pie was and she said apple" she explained. Bonnie was that kind of person, who would put everyone before herself, just to make sure they were happy. "What brings you by, Stefan?" she finally asked.

He sat down and pulled out a bar stool for her to. She sat down and watched as he grabbed her hand. "I'm so, so sorry Bonnie" he said, knowing he had needed to say that for a while now. "You didn't deserve how I treated you. You were only trying to help." He watched Bonnie prepare to say something, but he cut her off. "Don't you dare defend me either" he warned, poking his finger at her.

Bonnie shook her head. "You love her. And love makes you do stupid things sometimes" she told him. "I'm glad you're not so angry anymore" she said, leaning over and pulling him into a hug.

Stefan kissed the top of her head as he held her close, so thankful that she was able to forgive him that easily. "So when do I get to meet my niece or nephew?" he asked casually. Bonnie pulled away from him instantly and looked up at him, her eyes showing her surprise. Stefan just smiled. "Elena accidentally let it slip" he told her.

"I was going to tell you" Bonnie said quickly. "Damon and I just figured that with everything going on, it would be best to wait."

"I'm so happy for you. For both of you" Stefan told her. "But seriously, when do I get to meet him or her?" Stefan asked.

Bonnie was beaming with excitement now. "August" she told him.

He grabbed her face gently in his hands and smiled at her. "You look so happy" he told her. "Congratulations" he said sincerely.

"Thank you" Bonnie smiled. But her smile slowly faded. "Is everything going to work out Stefan?" she asked nervously.

Stefan smiled sadly. "I'll figure something out" he told her. And he had to believe that, because he had too much at stake now. "I don't want you worrying about anything except taking care of yourself" he told her.

"I'll try" she promised him. "But you should get back to Elena so I can finish baking" she told him.

Stefan smiled and pulled her into one last hug. "I'll keep you updated on everything" he promised. "I love you" he added.

"I love you too" she smiled. When she pulled away from him, she looked happy again. "Give Elena a hug for me and tell her I'll see her tomorrow."

"Will do" Stefan said, standing. He left quietly, feeling a little better than when he had first arrived. Now that his relationship with Bonnie was better, he just had Elena to worry about.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan walked into Elena's room just in time to see her up and walking. By herself. He about had a heart attack. "What in God's name are you doing?" he asked, rushing to her.

She laughed at him. "I'm fine Stefan" she told him. "The doctor wants me up and about as much as I can" she explained.

"I didn't hear him say that" Stefan said, wrapping his arm around her and helping her back to bed.

Elena rolled her eyes. "I can call the doctor in here so he can confirm it" she told him, settling onto her bed carefully. With his help, of course.

"Your sassiness is back" Stefan pointed out. And it felt so good to tell her that.

Elena smiled. Yeah, it was. She had been sassy all day and her family would agree. "So where have you been the past few hours?" she asked, leaning back in her pillows.

Stefan sat down on the bed and grabbed her hand. "I was getting in touch with a lawyer" he told her, squeezing her hand. Elena sighed and looked away from him. "Don't do that" he told her. "I have to believe this will work" he said. "I love you too much to give up."

Elena finally looked up at him. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up" she said. "I played a part in the fraud, Stefan. You and I both know how hard the government comes down on people who are involved in any way" she reminded.

"Don't think like that" Stefan said, leaning back on the bed next to her. "Stay positive" he added, kissing the side of her head gently.

Elena closed her eyes and turned towards him. When she opened them, his face was mere inches from hers. "I love you" she whispered.

Stefan leaned in and kissed her lips. Gently at first, and then with a little more need after that. He missed her so much. And his kiss let her know that. Slowly, he ended the kiss. "I love you" he told her. "Merry Christmas" he whispered, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to him.

She settled her body against his, feeling safer in that moment then she had in weeks. "Merry Christmas Stefan" she whispered, closing her eyes.

**A/N: I adore Bonnie. I want my own Bonnie to run my life Haha**


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: Warning: This update gets pretty intimate. I tried to make it meaningful though : )**

**Enjoy reading! The next update will be this weekend. I am taking all of Wednesday to start my new story. I will let you know via Twitter ( TVDVampireKat). **

Something prickly woke Elena up the next morning and as soon as she opened her eyes, she realized it was the stubble on Stefan's chin that he hadn't bothered to shave in a few days. She studied his face for a few moments, trying to decide if she liked this stubble or whether she liked the clean-shaven man she had known for a few months now.

Then her heart sank a little. She really had only known him for a few months, yet she felt feelings stronger for him than she had for any other guy she had dated.

And here they were, curled up on her hospital bed on Christmas, with an uncertain future. She sighed. It was just after one in the afternoon. They had slept for a long time, and Damon and Bonnie would probably be there with dinner in an hour or so.

"Stefan?" she whispered. She traced his lips with her finger, remembering the kiss they had shared the night before.

Stefan's eyes opened and he blinked a few times to help himself wake up. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head quickly. "Nothing" she assured him. "Bonnie and Damon will be here with dinner" she reminded.

Stefan blinked again as he looked over her at the clock. They really had slept for a while. Stefan settled his head back down into her pillow and stared into her eyes. "I should probably run home and change" he told her.

"And shave?" she asked, smiling as she again focused on his stubble.

It made Stefan smile. "You don't like my stubble?" he asked, running his hand over his face.

"Well, it gives you more of a rugged look" she said, blushing slightly when she thought about how they could role play that.

Stefan's eyes showed his excitement as his hand moved onto her hip. "How are you, umm … feeling?" he asked, hinting at why he wanted to know. He slowly leaned over and placed warm kisses against her neck, moving closer to her.

Her skin felt like it was on fire, probably because he hadn't touched her like that in quite some time. She wrapped her arms around his neck, inviting him closer. "Can we really do this in here?" she asked, closing her eyes and trying really hard not to make a sound when he sucked against her skin.

"If you want to" he said quietly. He sure as hell did.

Elena sighed. "I want to. I want you so much Stefan" she said, holding onto him tightly like she couldn't get enough of him.

He stopped kissing her neck and immediately began kissing her lips, moving closer to her still and being careful not to bump into her injured leg. "Let's go into the bathroom" he whispered against her ear, not wanting to take any chances that someone would walk in on them.

"Okay" she smiled. Stefan got out of bed first and was helping Elena out. As soon as her feet touched the floor, her hospital room door opened and in walked Jeremy. Well, that ended that. "Fuck" she said, surprising not only Jeremy and Stefan, but herself as well. It was disappointing though to have mentally prepared yourself to have sex with Stefan only for you to realize it wasn't going to happen right then.

"Am I interrupting?" Jeremy asked.

"No" Stefan answered, letting go of Elena. Jeremy hadn't interrupted. He had ruined Stefan's chance at sex with Elena, but after all, Jeremy was the concerned brother checking up on his sister, so Stefan really had no right to be mad at him. But he was irritated as hell.

"What's up Jer?" Elena asked, forcing a smile to cover up her disappointment.

"Nothing" he shrugged, coming in and taking a seat. He flipped open a magazine. "Jenna and Alaric are picking up things for dinner so I thought I would come and hang out with you guys" he told them.

Stefan and Elena both looked at each other and laughed lightly, glad that they were not caught in the act by her baby brother. That would have been embarrassing. "You guys spend some time together. I'm going to go get cleaned up" he said, placing a kiss against her cheek before walking away. "I'll be back in an hour or so" he announced. "Jeremy, make sure she rests" he said, pointing at Elena.

Elena rolled her eyes. "No, I thought I would run a few laps around the hospital" she said, getting a disapproving look from Stefan. It felt so incredibly good to tease him. Like nothing bad stood in the way of their future. Like she would walk out of the hospital with him and live happily ever after. She waited for him to see if he would play along or whether he would shut her down, letting her know she had no right to be playful after everything she had done.

"I catch you doing things like that and I will take your Christmas present back" he warned sternly, pointing at her again before smiling. She looked so crushed that he would really do something like that. "Behave" he mouthed, then winked at her as he exited the room. He paused for a moment when he was outside and took a deep breath. For a few moments, the pain and the fear he felt had vanished. But being away from her again brought all those feelings back. Jesus. If he had to watch her go away, he didn't know if he would be able to handle it.

Jeremy tossed the magazine aside and came to sit down by Elena. He looked like he had something on his mind, and she was pretty sure she knew what it was. "Spill" she told him.

He looked at her, but didn't bother to argue with how she knew he needed to say something. "Why did you do it?" he asked. His question was filled with so much betrayal and it killed her to hear him ask that question like that. "You had so much going for you Elena. Why did you turn yourself in?"

Elena grabbed his hand and looked at him sadly. "It was what was best for everyone" she told him. "Including me."

He shook his head though. "How in the hell is spending time in jail good for you?" he asked her.

Elena sighed. "If Damon was able to find out about the embezzling, it was only a matter of time before someone else did too" she admitted. "By coming forward, I was hoping that maybe a judge would give me a lesser sentence. It's a longshot, but waiting to get caught would have driven me insane" she admitted. "And that is no way to live your life, wondering each day you wake up if that will be the day you are taken to jail." It felt so good to tell someone that, rather than saying that she did all of this for Stefan. Turning herself in was for her too. And that made her selfish she figured.

"What are we supposed to do if you go to jail?" he asked. "I don't want to lose you."

For the first time in years, she saw a tear slide down his face. She hadn't seen him cry since their parents died. And for the first time, she realized that her decision to turn herself in had absolutely no benefit for her family. They would get nothing, and they wouldn't get to see her anymore. "Come here" she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" she told him sadly.

"I know" he told her. "I just wish there was something I could do to help" he said.

"There is something you can do" Elena told him. "Go to college. Meet the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with. And don't forget to call Aunt Jenna every day to tell her you love her" Elena said, this time in tears as well. "I love you, Jer" she whispered.

"Love you more, Sis" he whispered back.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Dinner was surprisingly nice. Elena and Jeremy shared looks every now and then, but they both did their best to be cheerful for everyone else. The hospital had let them have a few extra small tables for all of the food, and Bonnie made sure the nurses were fed as well for taking such great care of Elena.

Bonnie was the perfect host, and Damon finally had to make her sit down and enjoy herself too. "So does anyone have any really good Christmas stories?" Bonnie asked. Before anyone could answer, she spoke up again. "Oh I've got one!" she said excitedly. Then she looked at Stefan and grinned.

He frowned. "Oh no you don't" Stefan warned. Elena leaned closer to Stefan and smiled. She loved the idea of telling stories because they all knew so little about each other.

"It was two years ago" she began and Stefan groaned playfully, knowing Bonnie was going to tell the entire story. "We were having dinner at our place and Stefan was in charge of bringing the baked beans. He has this awesome recipe he does in the crock pot" she explained. "Anyway, he was on his way over and while he was warming up his car, a stray cat had snuck into his backseat. So while he was driving, mind you the beans were in the passenger seat, this stray cat comes flying into the front part of the car, scaring the shit out of him. He slams on his breaks and the beans go flying. Everywhere" Bonnie said, laughing so hard that she had to stop telling the story. "And there were beans, all over the front of his Audi" she said, bending over from laughing so hard. "And all over him" she added, bursting into even more laughter.

Bonnie had everyone laughing more so than the story. "I couldn't get the smell, or the stain, of beans out" he said, leaning against Elena as he finished telling the story. "I had to buy a new car" he informed. That had been a real loss for him. He had loved that car.

"What happened to the cat?" Elena asked.

"The cat?" Stefan asked in disbelief. "My car was destroyed because of that damn cat" he reminded her.

"Stefan says he let it out by the side of the road and it probably got ran over" Bonnie answered. "But knowing what a softie Stefan is, I bet he took the animal to a no-kill shelter and dropped it off" she added.

"Did you?" Elena asked, tilting her head slightly to look at him.

"No" Stefan said defensively. As soon as everyone began talking about something else, Stefan leaned in closer to Elena and whispered against her ear. "Yeah, I did" he told her, melting her heart a whole lot. "Do you want more to eat?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No" she told him. "I want to go home" she added, for the first time admitting that to someone else.

It broke his heart to hear her say that, even though he knew she obviously wanted to go home. Who wouldn't in her situation? But the doctors had wanted to keep her a few days longer to monitor her.

Bonnie continued to facilitate the conversations until everyone was so tired they could barely keep their eyes open. Mainly Elena. "I'll stay with Elena if you guys want to get some sleep" Stefan told her family.

He knew they were tired when no one argued with him on it. Elena hugged everyone goodbye, thanking them for such a wonderful Christmas. Then she got into her pajamas and waited for Stefan to change into his. "Jenna and them need to be heading back to Virginia soon" Elena told him. "I know she and Alaric don't have much time off" she added.

Stefan crawled into her small hospital bed with her and pulled her into his arms. "They're hesitant to leave" he mentioned. "I'll look after you, even when you get out of the hospital. They don't need to worry" he said.

"Thank you" Elena told him. He had already hinted that he would stay with her until she was healed enough to be on her own.

"I've got your Christmas present" he announced, reaching behind him to grab a small box out of the pocket of his jacket. Then he handed it to her.

Elena sat up some and took the fancy box from him. "I didn't get you anything" she said, frowning. She really hadn't had much time to think about it either.

"I don't want you to" he smiled, easing her worry. "I just picked this up today on my way here" he added.

Slowly and carefully, Elena pulled the top of the box off and peered inside. A diamond bracelet. She pulled it out of the box and admired it. "Stefan" she said, nearly speechless. It was gorgeous.

"I noticed over the last few months that you didn't own a lot of diamonds" he said. Yes, he did pay attention.

Because she never really got them from Gregory unless he had screwed up and wanted to buy her forgiveness. "This is beautiful" she told him. "Thank you." She leaned in and kissed him softly. Then she turned her attention back to her bracelet and let him help her get it on.

"I saw it and knew you had to have it" he told her, pulling her close again and settling down into the bed.

She sighed and closed her eyes, thinking that sleep really did sound pretty good after a long day. But then she remembered something. "Hey Stefan?" she asked. He kissed her head to let her know he was paying attention. "I know I have no right to ask this of you, but can you please make sure my family is taken care of?" Elena asked him. "If I end up going to jail, I need to know they will have everything they need" she said quietly.

Stefan squeezed his arms around her tighter. "I promise" he told her, holding her close.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was three days later when the doctors cleared her to go home. She was beyond relieved by that point, wanting her own bed and her own shower and no one poking at her all day long. It had also meant that she had to say goodbye to Jenna, Alaric and Jeremy. Now that she was out of the hospital, she told them to go home. Stefan had agreed to stay with her, and Elena really didn't need more than one person coddling her.

Elena had promised to call every day and keep the family updated on all the legal stuff as well as her own health.

Stefan really tried hard not to hover, but every time he saw one of her crutches catch onto something as she tried to walk, he damn near about dove for her to soften her landing just in case she fell. It made him nervous, especially when her wound was still healing and she could open it back up. "Really Stefan, if I was going to fall, I would have fallen by now" she told him, maneuvering herself away from the chair that had been the reason for Stefan's current anxiety.

"I just think you should have gotten a wheelchair" he told her. "You make me damn nervous using those crutches" he added.

She really couldn't be mad at him, not when he was taking such good care of her. "I'm being as careful as I can be" she told him, setting her crutches aside and holding her arms out for him. Lately, that's all she wanted, was to be in his arms. It made her look needy, but she didn't know how much time she had left as a free woman, and any time in Stefan's arms was precious.

Stefan didn't hesitate to take her in his arms and pull her close. He had been feeling the exact same way as her. The next court date was in a few days and he had that hotshot lawyer working overtime to get up to speed on Elena's case and how he was going to defend her. Elena knew about the new lawyer, but Stefan didn't give her much else in details. Definitely not how much the lawyer was costing him, because she would have put a stop to it right then. Stefan didn't care though. He trusted Katherine enough to know what she was talking about and so far, this hotshot lawyer was owning up to his bragging rights. "What do you feel like doing the rest of the night?" he asked, nibbling lightly on her hear as he asked her. He already knew what he wanted to do.

Elena closed her eyes and leaned into him. "I like what you have in mind" she said, wanting so desperately to forget about her court date in a few days. And she was pretty sure that Stefan's hands and mouth could make her forget.

She was so incredibly lucky to have done what she had and for Stefan to come back to her as if nothing had happened. He didn't bring up how horrible she had been and he didn't try and make her feel guilty about it either. He was being, well, a truly supportive boyfriend.

Stefan inhaled the scent of her shampoo as he buried his face in her hair. It was so nice to have total privacy with her again. "You're sure you're up for it?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "As long as we take it easy. No swinging from the chandelier or positions that make me look like a pretzel" she told him, then immediately blushed because the thought of their past sexual encounters did things to her that she didn't want to admit to him.

Stefan laughed at her. "Fine, no swinging from anything and none of those challenging positions" he agreed, even though those were some of his favorites. His arms encircled her fully as he kissed her for a few moments. "Slow and gentle" he whispered against her lips.

Her legs practically buckled right then and there. Carefully, he picked her up, avoiding her injured leg as best as he could as he carried her into her room. As soon as he had her lying down on the bed, he peeled his shirt off, followed by his pants and briefs. She would have closed her eyes, had she been able to stop staring. She told herself that it had been over a month and that she had good reason to be staring. He didn't seem to mind, because he was already sliding her sweatpants and underwear down her legs slowly. He took his time, admiring her legs as he uncovered them. The sight of her bandage on her leg hit him hard, but he did his best not to show how much it affected him. How much he hated Gregory for what he had put Elena through.

Her t-shirt came off next with her help until she was finally naked. Stefan leaned down and covered her body with his, straddling her right leg more than her left to avoid her injury. He brought his lips up to hers, kissing her slowly, caressing her sides with his fingers as he explored her body like it was his first time. Seeing as it had been over a month, it felt like the first time he had ever seen her. But as his skin touched hers, he was quickly reminded of every dip and curve on her body. His hand roamed even lower, caressing the inside of her thigh now as he continued to kiss her. Their lips were going to be sore by the time the night was over, because he didn't plan to stop kissing her anytime soon.

They settled into a comfortable make-out session while his hand continued to rub up and down the inside of her thigh. Elena would sigh contently every now and then, completely in love with how sweet and tender he was being with her.

And then those talented fingers touched her ever so slightly in that place she had secretly wanted them to go since he took her clothes off. She gasped, breaking their kiss and nearly jumping out of her skin. It had been electrifying for that split second he had made contact. She covered her eyes with her hands out of embarrassment for ruining the moment. "Sorry" she apologized. "It has been a while" she said, explaining her sudden reaction.

Stefan smiled as he kissed her cheek. "We don't have to do this tonight" he told her, giving her permission to say no.

Elena shook her head as she grabbed his hand and led his fingers back down to where she wanted them. At least this time, she was expecting it. "Continue" she told him, pressing his fingers against her. She whimpered slightly when she felt his cool fingers touch her again.

Stefan moved them in small circles, watching as she had her head tipped back and her eyes screwed shut. "Like this?" he asked, watching her as he pleasured her.

Elena bit down on her bottom lip and nodded. She continued to hold his hand, ready to correct him if he wasn't doing exactly what she needed him to do. But he was doing a pretty damn good job. Then she reminded herself that Stefan knew exactly what he was doing and that he had never disappointed her before.

Her back began to arch slowly and when he inserted a finger, she had to grasp onto the bedding to ground herself. Because at any moment, she was sure that she could float away. "Stefan" she breathed out, trying hard to keep it all in. Everything. The loss. The pain. The fear. All of it she had kept bottled up inside, thinking that sex would make her forget.

He must have known that. Stefan moved over the top of her, continuing to use his hand. He kissed tenderly below her ear before whispering, "Let go."

Her eyes opened wide as she internalized his words and gave meaning to them. Her body shook and then, an overwhelming sensation took over every part of her, including her thoughts. She moaned and all sorts of sounds came out that had no meaning, except to tell Stefan that he truly was a fantastic lover. She closed her eyes and listened to her heartbeat that sounded as if it would explode.

It was over, but she felt so incredibly good, relieved, that all she could do was smile like a fool. "You're welcome" was all he said, removing his hand from her and laying on his side, admiring the flushed look he had given her.

It took her close to five minutes to come down off of the incredible high he had just given her. "Thank you" she told him, finding the energy to turn her head and look at him. "I feel so …" she began, finding it hard to find the right word.

"Alive?" he asked her. Elena nodded. Yes. That was the word she was looking for. "Good" he told her, rolling back over her and cradling her face in his hands. He kissed her softly, anticipating what was to come. "I love you" he told her, looking so deep into her eyes that she was pretty damn sure that he could see right through her. How frightened she was to not be able to spend the rest of her life with him. He grasped her hands in his, interlocking their fingers together and raising their arms slightly above her head. "Don't let go" he whispered.

She held his eyes and was able to understand that his request had a lot more meaning behind it than just holding onto his hands. "Never" she whispered back, feeling his lips crash against hers and his body join hers.

He was hard. He was warm. But most importantly, he was safe.


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: Surprise update! It is short, but I want to give you as much as I can before I leave for my vacation on Sunday. **

**For the record, I want to state that I have no idea how the legal process would work in Elena's case. It would probably drag out for months or even years, but in my story, it doesn't because I have other things to write about. That being said, I hope you can still enjoy this update : )**

**I have the first update almost finished for the new story, so look for it possibly Friday evening!**

**As always, thank you for reading. You all are terrific! **

Stefan didn't know if his hands had ever shaken so much in his entire life. He sat a few rows back in the court room, dressed in his expensive suit and a tie he hardly ever wore. Elena hadn't been out of the hospital but six days and here she was, sitting with her lawyer, waiting for the judge to hand down his ruling. They had been in court since early morning and it was nearing five in the evening. Stefan had insisted that Jenna, Alaric and Jeremy be there for Elena that day because she needed all the support she could have. But Stefan also knew that her family needed this for themselves too. He had paid for them to make another quick trip out to Seattle. The surprise on Elena's face told Stefan that he had done the right thing. Although Elena had insisted that she didn't need them there, she had wanted them there for the judge's ruling. She just didn't think she could ask that of them.

The prosecutor had been a real dick to Elena all day and Bonnie had had to grab Stefan's arm when she had sensed Stefan was getting up to go and punch the guy out. Stefan thought the guy's points he made were invalid and that the suit and tie he was wearing was outdated. Basically, he hated the guy.

But Stefan was so proud of Elena. Even though she looked weak and tired to him, she had carried herself with such a professional presence, even when she was being attacked by the prosecutor. Elena had admitted to making a mistake, and her attorney assured everyone that Elena would make it right. She would pay money for loss and damages done to those who had been affected by the embezzling. She had made a public apology for playing a part in it. She didn't make excuses, nor did she cry. She was amazing.

She had done so well, yet Stefan couldn't read the look on the judge's face. If that judge took Elena away from him, for even a day, he knew he'd lose it. He couldn't put into words how much Elena meant to him.

Elena wouldn't turn around and look at Stefan, even while the judge was out deliberating. She barely heard anything her lawyer was saying to her. She felt numb, like the sentence had already been delivered and she was going away for a long time. She imagined having to hug Stefan one last time and how it would feel to be ripped from his arms. How he would want to come and visit her in prison and how she would refuse to see him, because it would destroy her to not be able to go home with him every time.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump and brought her out of her depressing thoughts. "I love you" Stefan whispered against her ear, kissing the side of her cheek. He wanted to remind her that he was there for her, thinking about her and praying like hell that things would go the way they were supposed to.

Elena sighed as she grabbed his hand and held onto it. Even she could feel his hand shaking and how nervous he was. "I love you too" she told him. What she wouldn't give for him to grab her and take her out of that courtroom. Maybe they would run away together, disappear and never look back.

Stefan kissed the top of her head one last time before the judge returned and Stefan had to go back to his seat. This time, Bonnie held his hand, and Stefan held Jenna's. They all held their breaths as the judge looked straight at Elena.

"While you may not have been solely responsible, it is clear to me that you have played a role in the embezzlement with the former CEO of Gregory's coffee" he began. Everyone on Elena's side felt as if they had been kicked in the stomach. Elena was going to be found guilty. "Therefore, I do find the defendant, guilty of fraud" he continued.

Stefan's eyes began to burn with tears that were surely going to fall. He couldn't lose Elena. He just couldn't. He watched Elena's head hang down, knowing she had realized what all of this meant. Bonnie was silently crying, and Damon was just staring ahead, like he hadn't heard the judge quite right.

"However" the judge stated, catching everyone's attention again. "You have shown this court that you are willing to make amends with those affected by the embezzling. I do believe that you have been honest and that you truly did not participate in the fraudulent act knowingly. Therefore, I order you to pay $50,000 in fines and complete six months of community service" he said. "Court is dismissed." With that, he banged his gavel and stood to leave.

Elena was a mess of tears by this point, her mind having believed she was going away to prison, only for the judge to give her a second chance. Sure, $50,000 was a lot of money, but she could come up with it. She would find a way, because it meant she was a free woman.

It meant she could be with Stefan, if that was what he wanted too.

She barely stood up when arms were wrapping around her and she was being squished in-between Stefan, Jenna, Jeremy, Alaric, Damon and Bonnie. Stefan let go first and shook the lawyer's hand. "Thank you. You don't know how grateful I am" Stefan told him.

"All in a day's work" he said, packing up his briefcase. Then he turned to Elena. "Well done" he smiled, holding his hand out to shake her hand. But she bypassed his hand and hugged him. And for once, Stefan wasn't jealous. Hell, he wanted to hug him too.

"Thank you so much" Elena told him.

"You're welcome" he told her. "Before I forget" he added, taking an envelope out of his pocket. Elena let go of him and stood back. "I was told to give this to you" he explained. "If you need any assistance, you be sure to give me a call" he said. "It was a pleasure working with you all" he said, shaking the hands of everyone else before he left.

Elena carefully opened the envelope, having no idea what it contained. She stepped away from her family as her eyes scanned over it. "Stefan" she said, keeping her eyes glued to the paper. He was behind her instantly, looking over her shoulder. "He left me in charge of the company" she said, turning to look at Stefan.

Stefan held her eyes before grabbing the letter from her. It was a legal letter, signed by Gregory a year ago. "I would have a lawyer read over it, but yeah, I think you're right" he told her.

She grabbed the paper and folded it up and shoved it back in the envelope, clearly upset. "The asshole didn't have time to change his affairs before he died" she said. Stefan reached out for her and tried to grab her hand. "Just take me home, please" she said.

Stefan knew that she was overwhelmed and exhausted. And she had every right to be. The past few weeks, her life had been a whirlwind of a mess. "Come on" he said, putting his arm around her and leading her out.

Elena was quiet all evening, but she wanted to be with her family because they were leaving the next morning. But she couldn't help feeling like hell. Even from the grave, Gregory was still fucking with her. She couldn't stop thinking about the company and all the decisions she would need to make. She knew Damon and Stefan were wondering what she would do. She had told them she wanted to see Gregory's company go down, but now that she had the company in her hands, both brothers wondered if she still wanted that.

A few hours later and Elena mentioned to Stefan that she wanted some time alone with her family. "Okay" he told her, grabbing her hand and kissing the inside of her wrist, just below the bracelet she was wearing. The one he had given her for Christmas. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "I'll drop them off at the airport around seven. I'll swing by your office afterwards" she explained.

"Goodnight" Stefan told her, leaning in and kissing her lips.

Elena was almost hesitant to let him go, but she knew she needed her time with her family. The day had been both excruciatingly nerve-wracking and relieving at the same time.

But the few hours she got to spend with them made her miss living back home. And after everything that had happened recently, Virginia kind of seemed like the right place for her to be.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena made good on her word to stop by Stefan's office after she had dropped her family off at the airport. She stopped halfway across the parking lot and stretched her leg some. It was killing her, probably because she had been driving all morning after being advised not to.

But she hadn't wanted to bug Stefan to take her family to the airport. She couldn't depend on him like that all the time, even if he insisted. She had put him through enough lately.

Betty jumped up from her seat when she saw Elena and ushered her into Stefan's office. Well, their office. Stefan hadn't rearranged anything. "I'll tell him you're here" Betty assured her, shutting the door.

Elena plopped down into her chair and sighed. She had so much to do and so much on her mind. She was going to need a long vacation after all of this.

Stefan was all smiles as he walked into the office, shutting the door and going straight for her. He fell to his knees, cupped her face and kissed her like he truly missed her. Which he did. "What's wrong?" he asked after he ended the kiss. He stroked her cheek with his thumb and kept his face close to hers.

"Just got a lot on my mind" she said, forcing a smile so he wouldn't worry. The she sighed. "Can we talk about it tonight?" she asked.

Stefan nodded. "Of course" he said, kissing her again.

When Damon came walking through the door, Stefan moved away from Elena, not wanting to give Damon a reason to make a big deal out of Elena being there. "You're here, good" Damon said, throwing a stack of papers on her desk for her.

"She's not here to work" Stefan informed him. She had just gotten out of the hospital not that long ago. "She is supposed to be at home resting" Stefan reminded her, giving her that eye that told her he was serious. When the weekend rolled around, he was determined to stay in bed with her all day and night just so she would rest.

"Fine" Elena said, grabbing the stack of papers. "I can review these at home" she stated. When Stefan tried to grab them from her, she held them out of his reach. "I'll see you tonight" she said, kissing his cheek quickly before leaving.

"Things okay between you two?" Damon asked his brother as he watched her leave.

Stefan sighed. "As good as they can be" he told him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena was curled up on the couch in a blanket by the time Stefan arrived at her place. He was wearing sweats and a sweatshirt so she assumed he was staying the night. "Hi" she smiled, shutting her TV off. "Did you eat yet?" she asked.

"Yep" he told her, leaning down to kiss her. "You?" he asked. Elena nodded. Stefan sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her as she leaned in close to him. "So you wanted to talk about some things …" he reminded her.

Elena nodded. "The past few days, I haven't been able to stop thinking about what I said to you that night" she said, resting her head against is chest.

"I already forgave you" he pointed out, placing a reassuring kiss on the top of her head. He didn't want her stressing out about it. He wanted to go right back to being perfectly happy with her.

"God Stefan, I never used you" she said, needing to get her thoughts off of her mind. "If anything, I needed you. You made me feel like I had a purpose in life, whether it was as a girlfriend or as an employee. If it weren't for you, I probably would have given up and gone back home to Virginia for good" she explained. "I really just wanted to hurt you Stefan, so you would leave me alone so I could turn myself in."

Stefan hugged her closer, appreciating what she had to tell him. "We needed each other" he corrected her. "We still do" he pointed out. "What can I do to help you not feel so guilty about what happened?" he asked. He wanted to help her.

"Tell me exactly how I made you feel when I said those things to you" she stated. She wanted to know. Whether that would help or not, she didn't know.

Stefan grabbed onto hers hands with his, lacing his fingers through hers. "I felt scared, because I thought I was losing you. It wasn't so much about you not wanting me as it was about the real fear that you wouldn't be here anymore. That I wouldn't get to see you, or hear you, or love you" he told her.

She knew what that felt like. "I felt that way too, when I thought I was going to jail. And I wouldn't be able to be with you" she said.

"Seems like we both have a real fear of losing one another" he said. That had to mean something.

Elena nodded. She could agree to that. "So what do we do about it?" she asked.

Stefan thought about her question for a moment before answering. "We get married" he told her.

**A/N: This is not a cliffhanger …**


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N: This is the last update for about a week. I am leaving for the airport and I am not taking my computer. I need a break from technology. *Lies*. I will have my phone so I can talk with you all on Twitter! I just won't be writing.**

**Thank you so much for your support! Don't forget to check out my newest story, Stay A Little Longer if you haven't done so yet.**

"What?" Elena asked, laughing at the idea as she turned to face him.

"We" he said, leaning in slowly. "Get" he breathed against her lips. Then he kissed her, slowly for a moment, enjoying the fact that she was there with him. "Married" he whispered finally.

For a moment, she almost said yes. His kisses were that convincing. "We can't" she said instead.

"And why not?" he asked. "I love you. You love me" he reminded her. Nothing would have to change.

"Because" she said, moving away from him slightly. "I'm $50,000 in debt and now I have a company to liquidate" she reminded.

"You're not keeping the company?" he asked. He felt relieved, hearing her say that.

She looked at him curiously. "You know I want Salvatore Coffee to be successful. Why would you think I would keep your direct competition going, and run it myself?" she asked. That had kind of hurt to know that he thought she would screw him over like that.

"Because you're brilliant enough to run your own company and you deserve to" he answered, looking down at his hands. "I don't want to take that from you, Elena. Especially when we both know you were the reason that company reached success."

Elena grabbed his hand so he had to focus on her again. "I love you, Stefan" she told him. "And if I had my own company, I would never see you. I like working with you and being able to see you every day" she explained. Then she smiled. "Besides, who would make sure you don't screw things up if I weren't there?" she asked.

"Sometimes I screw up on purpose" he told her.

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Why would you do that?" she asked.

Stefan smiled. "Because the sex is awesome when you're irritated with me" he admitted. She blushed immediately. He leaned in and brushed the hair out of her face. "You get a little more … rough. And bossy. Sometimes I like that" he whispered.

She grabbed ahold of the sweatshirt he was wearing and pulled him closer. "I really want you right now" she told him. Especially when he said things like that to her.

Stefan leaned back on the couch, laying down and looking at her. "I'm all yours" he smirked.

Elena bit her bottom lip and shook her head no. "We need to keep talking about this marriage idea of yours" she told him.

"How about we do that after we have sex?" he asked.

"Not a chance in hell. You and I both know I'll agree to anything you ask of me after we have sex. I can't think straight" she told him.

Stefan grinned proudly. "I'm that good, huh?" he asked her.

"Yeah, you're pretty much amazing" she told him, not caring that she was blowing up his ego. It was good for people to know what they were good at. "But I still can't marry you right now." Stefan sat back up and sighed. "I've got so much stuff to figure out, starting with that damn company. I think I know what I want to do, but I might need your help."

"Of course" he told her, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss. "Anything you need" he told her.

"I want to pay every employee a full year's salary, to give them time to find another job" she told Stefan. "And of course pay the investors that were unknowingly a part of the fraud" she added. "$50,000 for my own fines. And the rest will be divided between an investment for Salvatore Coffee and your mother's treatment" she told him.

"No" Stefan told her instantly. "You deserve that money. I can't let you give it to us" he said.

"I'm not giving it to you" she corrected. "It is a business investment, a clean one. And I can write off anything that goes towards your mother's treatment as a charitable contribution" she explained. "Maybe we should give money towards research too" she suggested.

"I can't believe you would do all of that for us" he said.

"I'm doing it for family" she told him. "Family is the single most important aspect of a person's life" she reminded. "And, if I am considering marrying you, then I think I get to consider your family as my own" she added.

Stefan's eyes lit up. "You're considering marriage then?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "Not right this second. I want to get my messes cleaned up first" she told him.

"You love me enough to join my dysfunctional family?" he asked, smiling.

"I love you enough to join your family so I can spoil and love Bonnie and Damon's baby" she corrected him, smiling as she leaned her forehead against his.

"Oh" Stefan said. "You only want to marry me so you can be an aunt to my little niece of nephew" he said.

"Our niece or nephew" she told him.

"So, we want to get married. But we want to take care of the financial and legal stuff first" he concluded. Elena nodded. It seemed to him that they had things figured out. "Can we have sex now?" he asked. "Because I've been waiting patiently for five minutes now" he reminded her.

"Yeah" Elena told him. He practically pounced on her, careful of her leg. His lips were on hers, and his hands were everywhere. She laughed as she tried to decide whether she was turned on or whether he was just tickling her. "No, not here!" she laughed. "Bedroom" she got out before he had kissed her again.

"Elena!" he whined. The bedroom was so far away at that point. "I'd rather do it right here" he said against her ear. And who was she to argue when he said it like that? So she just simply nodded and closed her eyes, preparing herself for what she already knew would be amazing.

Until her phone started ringing on the coffee table near them. It could have been any number of people, so she reached for it, attempting to look at the screen to see who it was. Stefan took her phone out of her hand though. "Hey" she told him.

"Right now, no one could be so important that we have to stop so you can talk" he told her, tossing her phone onto the loveseat a few feet away. He had her shirt pulled down with his face buried in her chest. It was hard to believe that just the other night, he had been so gentle and patient when right then, he was acting like a horny teenager who was just diving in out of pure need.

"Are you going to spend all night in there?" Elena asked teasingly as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Stefan's head popped up and he smiled at her. "Maybe" he said, moving forward so he could kiss her lips. "I've got other places that I need to taste though" he reminded, eliciting quite the excitement from her eyes.

"You, Mr. Salvatore, know exactly what to say to a girl to get her all revved up" Elena said, blushing because she knew he could hear her breathing become a little uneven.

Stefan kissed her shoulder and ran his tongue along her neck, silently asking her to tip her head back. "No, I know exactly what to say to you" he corrected. "Because I've paid attention" he added proudly. Which was true. He knew exactly what she did like and what she didn't like.

"Have you now?" Elena asked him, feeling her breath catch in her throat when she felt him suck on her ear gently. Damn him.

"Uh huh" he answered, grinding his hips against hers, just for her reaction. That little whimper she gave out made him smile. "Imagine if we got married and then retired soon after. We could stay home and have sex. All. Day. Long" he promised her.

Elena groaned when he moved his hips against hers again. "Neither of us are retiring until our mid-sixties" she informed him. She wanted to continue working, well, because she loved it. "I love getting to boss you around at the office anyways" she said playfully.

He chuckled lightly, because it was so true. "Fine" Stefan told her. "We'll just have to schedule in time at the office for a quickie or two" he said. "Remember what we did on the conference room table?" he asked, running his hands down the inside of her pajama bottoms, lightly caressing her legs. Elena nodded, because she couldn't speak. She was too focused on his hands where they were going to go next. "I have the power to reserve that room for … meetings" he grinned.

Elena grew annoyed with his innocent hands. "For professional meetings" she reminded him.

"For mind blowing sex with Elena meetings" he counter-corrected her.

"Someone would hear us" she told him.

Stefan sighed. "You're right" he agreed. "You're really loud during sex" he smiled, kissing her shoulder again.

Elena tried to move her hips up to meet his, but he wasn't going to give her the contact she wanted. "You're not exactly quiet yourself" she told him, annoyed.

"Someone's getting impatient" he said, picking up on her souring mood.

"So flatter me and take your pants off" she told him.

And that was pretty damn sexy. "Yes ma'am" he complied, sitting up some and lowering his sweats for her. Elena sat up too, grabbing ahold of his shirt and pulling it up and over his head. She rested her hands on his chest for a moment before smiling. "I love when you look at me like that" he told her softly.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like you can't believe I'm all yours" he smiled. She blushed instantly and he grabbed her face. "I am all yours" he promised, crashing his lips onto hers for a heated kiss.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"How about this one?" Stefan asked.

Bonnie picked up the ring and examined it. "No" she said, handing it back to the incredibly patient employee at the jewelry store.

Stefan sighed. "What's wrong with that one?" he asked. They had literally looked at every ring in the store and Bonnie hadn't liked any of them.

"It's just … not Elena" she explained.

As tired and frustrated as Stefan was, he knew she was right. He just wanted to pick out a ring so he could give it to Elena. But honestly, he hadn't really pictured any of them staying on Elena's finger long-term. "Thank you" he told the store employee before leaving with Bonnie. "Do you want to look at another store?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I need to eat lunch" she told him, having been craving something that she couldn't quite figure out yet.

Stefan looked at her. "We just ate a late breakfast half an hour ago" he reminded her. A big late breakfast.

"I know. But the baby is hungry again" she informed him. "Let's go to that taco wagon we passed by earlier" she said.

Stefan was hesitant. "Damon told me you are only supposed to eat healthy stuff" he reminded her.

"Well, is Damon carrying a baby for nine months and then pushing it out?" she asked Stefan sternly. Stefan just shook his head. "Exactly. So if I want to eat at the taco wagon, I'm going to eat at the taco wagon" she said, a tad irritated that Damon was being so obsessive about this pregnancy.

They began walking again. "So, any pregnancy mood swings yet?" he asked casually.

Bonnie shook her head no. "Surprisingly, no. I don't think I'm going to get them" she replied.

Stefan grinned. Bonnie had been nothing but mood swings the past week and he felt sorry for Damon. Not really actually.

So Stefan took her to the taco wagon and she ordered the biggest bean, cheese and rice burrito on the menu. He was good with a bottle of water. "So, tell me again how this whole proposal came about?" Bonnie asked him.

"Well, we were talking about our insecurities about losing one another and I suggested we get married" Stefan said. It was as simple as that.

"And she said yes?" Bonnie asked with a mouthful of burrito.

Stefan shrugged. "Sort of. I mean, she wants to eventually, but she also wants to get everything settled first. You know, liquidating Gregory's company and finishing up with the legal stuff" he explained.

Bonnie just stared at him in disbelief. "That's not even a little romantic" she told him. Stefan paled. Was it supposed to have been? Had he let Elena down? Was that really the reason she had said no? "You didn't even ask her. You suggested it" she told him, shaking her head in disappointment.

"She seemed okay with it" Stefan said, starting to feel guilty about the way he had asked Elena to marry him.

"Of course she was" Bonnie said, rolling her eyes at him. "She loves you. But that's not the point" she added. Stefan was even more confused now. If Elena loving him wasn't the point, then what was? Bonnie groaned. "She needs a romantic proposal Stefan" she told him. "And it needs to be a surprise" she added.

"A surprise?" he asked. Now he was just overwhelmed.

Bonnie nodded. "You have to propose when she least expects it. And this time, you will have a ring. Trust me, she will love it" Bonnie said, talking with her hands now to emphasize her point.

"But I still don't have a ring" he reminded her.

Bonnie grabbed his water and chugged half of it. "We'll keep looking. I know of a place that makes customized rings and they are beautiful" she told him. "Of course, they are a bit more expensive."

"Does it look like I would ever put a price on Elena's happiness?" he asked with a smile. "When we're done, let's go and check it out."

"Now we're talking!" she said excitedly, rolling up the foil from her burrito to throw away. She stood up and sighed. "But first, can we stop at a bakery and get a brownie?" she asked.

"Sure" he said, tucking Bonnie under his arm as they walked.

Damon was going to kill him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena hadn't planned on seeing Stefan that night, telling him that she was tired and was going to go to bed early. He wasn't opposed to her plans, because he was planning to do the same thing. The workday had kicked his butt. He couldn't wait for Elena to be back working full-time with him. He was hoping she would be back in a week or so.

So he was a bit surprised when an hour later, she was walking through his door in a mess of tears, holding a handful of papers. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't figure this out" she said, breaking down and crying even harder.

He took the papers from her and set them aside so he could wrap her in his arms. She looked exhausted. "Maybe I can help" he said, stroking her hair and placing light kisses on forehead.

"Okay" she nodded, allowing him to walk her over to the couch. He grabbed the papers and looked them over. "I'm trying to divide this money up and I had it all worked out and then I ran the numbers again and it's not working and I can't find my mistake" she said, sniffling as she tried to stifle her tears.

Stefan grabbed his phone to use as a calculator. Then he grabbed Elena and brought her to lay against him while he worked out the math she couldn't figure out. Elena rested her eyes as she listened to him breathe. He was so calm and strong and she needed that right then.

It took Stefan about 20 minutes, but he figured it out. "Got it" he said. She opened her eyes and sat up some so he could explain it to her. "You wrote a 9 instead of a 2 right here" he said.

"Oh" she said, feeling pretty stupid. "I'm sorry I troubled you for such a stupid mistake" she said.

"You're tired" Stefan told her, setting the papers down and cupping her face gently. "And a little math mistake meant that I got to see you tonight" he reminded, smiling.

It got her to smile too. "I love you" she told him.

"I love you too" he said, kissing her lips softly. "And since you are already over here, why don't you stay the night?" he asked.

"I'd like that" she said, yawning as she rested her head on his shoulder again.

He wrapped his arms around her and decided he would let her fall asleep before moving her to the bedroom.

And then he smiled, because pretty soon, he wouldn't have to ask her to stay the night.

She would already be living with him.

**A/N: Have I mentioned how adorable Stefan is lately? **


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N: This story is coming to an end. A few more updates at least, but I will be sad to see it end. These two characters have been such a pleasant challenge to write!**

**I do hope you enjoy this update and as always, I apologize for making Stefan so perfect.**

Elena heard her front door close and a set of keys drop on the table. It had started to become her favorite time of the day lately, when Stefan got off of work and would come over to see her.

Though, she hadn't gotten out of bed all day really. Today was Gregory's funeral. She had received an announcement, but she wasn't going to go. She hadn't told Stefan either.

Overall, it had been a pretty depressing day and all she had wanted to do was hide from the world for a little while under the covers.

She smiled for the first time that day when she heard Stefan kick his shoes off and the bed sunk lower as he climbed on the bed. The covers lifted up and she saw his bright smiling face before everything went dark again. A strong pair of hands cupped her face as he kissed her, then those hands slowly slid down to her waist before pulling her closer. "What are you doing?" he asked quietly.

Elena tucked her face between his neck and his shoulder and his arms wrapped around her securely. "Hiding" she whispered.

"Hiding from what?" he asked her, leaning his head against hers.

"Everything" she answered sadly. For the most part, she had been doing okay since the accident. But today felt different. Emotionally, she was hurting. And she didn't know why. Was it because it was Gregory's funeral? Or had she suppressed her sadness, fear and pain the past few weeks and now it was coming back to the surface full speed?

"Me too?" he asked, wondering if she had not wanted him to drop by today.

Elena kissed his neck softly. "No" she told him. "I'm glad you're here" she whispered.

She sounded so sad and it broke his heart, knowing that she was having such a rough day. He rolled over the top of her and pulled the covers away so he could look down at her, right into her eyes that would betray her and tell him everything she didn't want to tell him. "Talk to me" he told her, running his fingertips along her cheeks. He didn't want her to think that she could distance herself from him like this.

Elena was the first to break the intense stare between them, turning her head to the side and looking out her window. "Something's wrong" she told him sadly. "It hurts" she said, her voice cracking as she did.

Stefan moved to lay next to her, kissing her forehead to comfort her. "You've been through a lot, Elena" he told her, knowing full well that she had buried her feelings since leaving the hospital. It was only a matter of time before they surfaced. Elena closed her eyes, because if she had to look at him, she would cry. "It's okay to feel this way. You're grieving" he whispered, pushing her hair away from her face. "And I'm here for you" he reminded her.

That had done it. A quiet sob escaped her and she shook her head. "I don't want to feel like this" she cried softly.

He cradled her face in his hands and wiped at her tears. "You won't feel like this forever, Elena" he whispered, looking into her beautiful, sad eyes. "I promise" he told her.

She nodded her head slowly and smiled sadly. "I know" she told him. She really did know. She had felt like this before, a few months after her parents had died. "Gregory's funeral was today, and I can't stop thinking about it" she admitted weakly.

Stefan's thumb stilled from wiping her tears. He hadn't even thought about Gregory's funeral, let alone Elena needing closure. It was nearly seven at night now and the service would have been over. "You needed to go to that, didn't you?" he asked. Elena shrugged. "Elena, why didn't you tell me?" he asked with concern. He would have taken the day off to go with her.

"Because" she whispered. "I know what you think of Gregory. And I shouldn't want to pay my respects" she told him. It was all some pretty messed up logic in her mind.

"You need closure, Elena. No matter what happened between the two of you" he told her, placing a light kiss against her cheek. Elena didn't look too convinced. "Come with me" he said suddenly, sitting up and pulling her with him.

"Where?" she asked, confused by his sudden eagerness to leave.

"Put warmer clothes on" he told her, getting up and walking out of her room.

She sat on her bed, deciding whether or not to get up and follow him.

But this was Stefan, and she'd follow him anywhere.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena looked out the window as Stefan pulled his car up along a curb. A cemetery. They were parked in front of a cemetery late at night. If he was going for romance, he clearly didn't know her very well. Stefan leaned over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I called around. Gregory was buried here this morning. I thought you might like to say goodbye" he told her.

Elena felt the lump in her throat grow at the thought of having to say goodbye to someone she had once loved, who turned out to be the worst choice she had ever made. "Will you come with me?" she asked calmly.

Stefan nodded, even though she wasn't looking at him. "Yeah, I will" he told her. He got out of the car and went around to her side, opening her door and grabbing her hand to help her out. She took a deep breath as she stared over the lawn filled with so many headstones. "This way" he said, beginning to walk.

Elena followed him without hesitancy, staying close to his side as they walked down the small paved path. She was familiar with the eerie feeling of a graveyard, having visited her parents there. It never got easier for her to be there, no matter how many times she had walked through the gates and sat talking to her mom and dad.

He saw that she was lost in thought and brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her. She looked up at him finally and gave him a small smile. They walked for a few more minutes before stopping. She looked straight ahead and saw Gregory's grave, the dirt still fresh on top. She let out a shaky breath. "He's really in there" Elena said. He was really buried in the ground.

Stefan wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, kissing the side of her head. "Yeah, he is" he confirmed.

The first tear finally fell as she read his name, the year he was born, and the year he had died. He had only lived 28 years. "He's really gone" she said quietly, though her voice was strained with pain.

Stefan rested his head against hers and sighed. "He's gone" Stefan said.

"I know this isn't my fault" Elena said sadly, wiping at her tears. "But it still hurts" she admitted.

"He made his own choices, Elena. Choices that … that almost cost me you" he said sadly. "I know you're hurting, and I'll help you. You just need to know that his actions were his own. There's nothing you could have done differently" he told her.

Elena nodded. "He's gone, and I get to live my life now" she said, as if she were encouraging herself to keep going and to look forward to the future.

"With me" Stefan reminded, enveloping her in his arms and holding her tight.

Elena wrapped her arms around Stefan and closed her eyes. "Thank you for bringing me here" she mumbled against him. It was something she needed to see. Gregory, resting in peace and out of her life for good. For Stefan to reaffirm for her that his death was not her fault. That Stefan loved and supported her.

The drive home was just as quiet as the drive there had been. "Can I make you anything to eat?" he asked when they got back to her apartment.

Elena set her keys down and shook her head no. "I just want a shower" she told him. She hadn't had one all day. She walked slowly towards him and wrapped her arms around him. "Will you join me?" she asked, tipping her head back and looking up at him.

Stefan smiled. "Like you would even have to ask" he told her with a grin. She didn't seem to reciprocate his excitement though.

Elena looked away from him for a moment before looking back up at him. "I have something else to ask you" she said.

Stefan bent down and kissed her. "Whatever it is, my answer is yes" he replied.

Elena took a small breath. "I'm giving up this apartment to find something cheaper. Can I stay with you until I find a new place?" she asked.

Stefan shook his head no, confusing her. "I don't want you to find a new place. I want you to stay with me" he told her. "We're going to get married eventually. We might as well start living together" he suggested to her.

Elena sighed. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Because living with me full-time is not the same as having me for sleepovers."

Stefan grinned. "Now every day will be like a sleepover" he said.

"Are you sure?" Elena asked again, more on the serious side.

"Elena, I am sure" he told her. "I'm so sure in fact that I will help you pack up this apartment" he smiled.

Elena smiled too. "Thank you" she told him, feeling one more stressor in her life ease away.

Stefan kissed her again. "Believe me, this benefits me more than it does you" he told her.

Somehow, she thought he was probably serious. "I'm going to get into the shower" she told him, letting go of him.

"Okay. I'll be in in a minute" he promised, rubbing her back lightly. She nodded and left his side. Stefan watched her and sighed. He just wanted her to be happy. And he felt like the world was really making that impossible for her lately.

Elena had started the water to get it warm and then stripped out of her clothes. She let her hair down out of its ponytail and shook it loose before stepping under the water. Instantly, she felt her body relax.

She was so focused on the water running over her body that she barely noticed Stefan until he stepped in behind her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. "I love you" he whispered.

Elena closed her eyes and leaned against him. She felt his hands move away from her, but they were back moments later, soapy and moving across her skin. No, dancing across her skin was more like it. She titled her head to the side slightly and Stefan was kissing her neck … her shoulder.

And just when she thought it couldn't get much better, she felt his tongue run along her skin, catching all of the water droplets. She couldn't help the smile that appeared. He was a genius and he was being completely himself. Of course she would marry him. She would marry him that night if he asked.

"What are you thinking about?" Stefan asked against her ear.

"My to-do list for tomorrow" she replied.

She grinned when she felt Stefan tighten his arms around her. "Liar" he growled from deep in his throat.

Elena still had her smile on her face as she turned around in his arms to face him. "I was hell bent on being miserable tonight. Then you come along and put a smile on my face" she told him. "More than once."

"You deserve a smile on your face" he told her truthfully. He brushed her wet hair out of her face and smiled too. "I just realized that we are both naked in the shower. I may have to excuse myself" he said sheepishly.

"No, you can stay" Elena told him, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling as she looked into his eyes. She pushed her hips against his slightly and he thought his eyes would pop out. He really had tried his hardest to be a gentleman. And he had succeeded for about five minutes. But this was too much. Especially when she was riling him up. On purpose, too, he noted. She stood on her tiptoes and bit the bottom of his ear, hard enough to get him to wince. Definitely hard enough to get his attention. "I'm waiting" she told him.

"Dear God" he mumbled as he pushed her backwards until her back hit the glass door. His lips crashed onto hers at about the same time his body collided with hers.

She was out of breath when he tore his lips away from hers, but she managed to place her hand against the glass, bracing herself. It didn't matter how many times her back hit the shower door. She begged him for more.

She was thankful that he was holding onto her when her legs were shaking so bad she could hardly stand on them. A few groans and curse words later, Stefan's hand was planted against the glass door too as he found his release. Then Stefan smiled a few minutes later. "When you move in with me, we could do this every morning" he told her, envisioning the start to an amazing day after a hot and heavy shower with her.

Elena could only laugh because she still could hardly focus on anything else but how great her body felt. No more feeling sorry for herself or worrying about her future. Not when she was naked in a shower with Stefan. "If we do this every morning, we might as well not even go to work" she finally got out, leaning her head against his chest. "Because I wouldn't want to put clothes on afterwards" she added.

Stefan laughed and kissed the top of her head. "Good to know" he said, holding her tight. "So, when are you moving in?" he asked. He could hardly wait.

Elena just smiled. "Wednesday" she told him. She could be all packed up by Wednesday.

"Good" he replied. He grabbed for the bottle of shampoo and resumed his shower with her, as if they had not just had amazing sex.

He made a mental note to set the alarm 30 minutes earlier when she moved in, to account for all the sex he and Elena would be having in the mornings before work – shower or no shower.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So we should probably tell your brother, Elena and your mom" Bonnie stated as she walked hand-in-hand with Damon.

"What, you mean about this?" Damon grinned, waving their marriage license around. Bonnie was smiling so much she swore her face would be sore the next day. "They'll be good with us getting married in three days" he assured her.

"And my family will be throwing us a reception when we see them in two weeks" she added. Damon's last minute proposal that they get married as soon as possible had freaked her out for about an hour before she realized that they were practically married anyways. This was just going to make it official.

Damon stopped and pulled Bonnie into an embrace. "I should have married you years ago" he told her.

Bonnie smiled as she shrugged. "Waiting has made me realize that after all these years, I love you even more" she told him honestly. She didn't think it was possible.

"Well shit" Damon said. "There's nothing I could say that will sound as good as that" he told her, giving her a cute pouty face.

Bonnie just laughed. "I love you will work" she assured him. She couldn't believe she was finally marrying this man. A man that drove her absolutely insane half the time, and one who loved her all of the time.

"I love you" he told her, leaning in and kissing her. Then he knelt down and placed his hands on her stomach and smiled. "And I love you" he added, kissing the barely visible baby bump she had recently started sporting.

People had to walk around the happy couple standing in the middle of the sidewalk as Damon continued to "kiss the baby" as he called it.

"Okay, we need to go" Bonnie laughed as she tried to move away from him. "We need to go and tell Stefan we are getting married" she reminded.

"Nah, I already sent him a text telling him" he told her.

"How special" she said sarcastically.

Damon stood back up and smiled. "And we are having lunch with my mom tomorrow to tell her" he added.

That was news to Bonnie. Damon avoided his mother at all costs. But she was not going to push the issue. Instead, she placed her hand on his cheek and leaned in to kiss him. "When we get married, I'm changing the décor in the bathroom" she informed, patting his cheek before walking around him. "I need a fish taco" she said, setting out on foot to find her favorite taco stand.

Damon chased after her. "You can't eat that stuff!" he called out. Bonnie ignored him though. Stefan was much better at accepting her cravings.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan was let into his mother's room early the next morning. She was having a good day, the staff had said. He hoped so.

She turned around in her chair and her face instantly lit up when she saw him. "My baby" she said, standing and reaching her arms out for him.

"Hi Mom" he said, wrapping her in the same hug she was giving him. "How are you?" he asked hesitantly.

"I'm much better now that you are here" she told him. He instantly felt guilty. He hadn't been by to see her, and he hadn't called her either, for one reason or excuse or another. "What brings you by?" she asked finally, inviting him to sit at the table with her.

Stefan let himself smile. He had a very important reason for coming by. "Mom, I'm going to ask Elena to marry me" he said proudly.

A smile crept across his mother's face as she saw how happy her son looked. "She finally quit giving you the runaround I take it?" she asked. "She left that other man?" she confirmed.

Stefan nodded. "The other guy … he's … out of her life for good now" he said, not willing to go into detail. "But Elena and I finally realized that we are happiest when we are with each other" he admitted. "She's going to move in next week too" he added.

"To your apartment?" she asked, frowning. Stefan nodded slowly, unsure if he should have told her that or not. "No no no" his mother stated, shaking her head. "If you're going to marry her, she deserves a house. Not an apartment in the city" she informed him, pointing her finger.

Stefan hadn't even put much thought into buying a house. "Okay, I can do that" he told her. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that a house would be good for them. A responsibility they could have together.

"Did you get her a ring yet?" she asked, narrowing down all of the important details. Stefan nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small black velvet box. He opened it and his mother's eyes went wide. "Oh Stefan, this is beautiful" she told him, gasping as she examined it.

"Do you think she'll like it?" he asked.

"She will love it" his mother told him. "I'm so proud of you" she said, reaching over and giving him another hug.

Stefan hugged her back, trying not to cry. Because this moment he was having with his mother was a rare one since she had been diagnosed. She was his mom again, giving him the helpful and insightful advice she had given to him when he was younger. "I love you Mom" he said, holding her tight. Afraid that the next time he saw her, she might not be the same person.

"Oh Stefan, I love you too" she told him. She pulled away and placed her hands against his cheeks. "Both my boys are getting married" she smiled. "And I'm going to be a grandma" she added excitedly. The news from Damon had thrilled her beyond belief. "When are you and Elena going to give me grandbabies?" she asked.

"Not for a long time" he said. She frowned. "You'll be occupied with the one Damon is giving you for now" he reminded her. Good thing too, because Stefan did not do well with screaming kids.

"You say that now" she told him, grinning. He would make a pretty good father, if she said so herself. "Children are wonderful. You and Damon make me so happy" she told him, bringing him in for another hug.

"Thanks Mom" he told her, holding her. He saw the photo of him and Damon when they were younger on her nightstand and it made him smile even more.

Finally. His life and the life of his family was moving in the right direction.


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N: This update is a little sexy, so be careful. Not quite the M rating, but definitely some sexy time is going on. **

**I love these characters and the more I think about ending this story, the more I don't want to. So, I have no idea how many more updates there will be. Probably not a lot though. **

**I love you all and thank you for your support and feedback!**

"I promise to love you, support you, honor you and cherish you. There's no other place I would rather be then standing by your side, living my life with you in this crazy world" she said softly, ignoring the tears that were running down her face. She was glad that Damon, Stefan, their mother, Elena and a minister were the only ones watching her cry like a pregnant, hormonal bride would.

Damon smiled as he held her hands. "I promise to love you and support you, except your decision to redecorate the bathroom" he told her, getting laughs from everyone, even Bonnie herself. "I can't imagine my life without you, Bonnie. This ceremony makes it legal, because my heart has been married to you since the day I met you." More tears. From all three women standing in the room, listening to Damon. Hell, even Stefan was on the verge of tears too.

Elena was glued to Stefan's arm, her head leaning against his shoulder as she watched the happy couple before them say their vows. It was such a simple ceremony, but it was so incredibly beautiful. And Elena could see just how much they loved each other. No matter how mad they got at one another and no matter what life challenges were thrown at them, they were in love and nothing was going to change that.

Damon barely got Bonnie's ring on her finger before he was grabbing her and kissing her senseless. Because he had been wanting to do that since they got there. The three guests and the minister all clapped.

Cake and champagne were served soon after, with Bonnie of course sticking to her glass of water. She made up for it in cake. Four pieces to be exact. "You sure this is what you wanted?" Damon whispered into her ear. Because he would have suffered through a large extravagant wedding for her. He would have flown in elephants and chartered a boat too if that had been what she had wanted. But she had insisted on something small and simple, with just his family.

Bonnie smiled. "I'm sure. This was perfect" she whispered, pressing her lips against his.

Their mother was all smiles, though she insisted on serving everyone and making sure everyone had everything they needed. But when she was sitting down, she was talking their ears off. She was having another good day and when Stefan and Damon would look at one another, they knew what the other was thinking. Cherish the good moments they had with her, and try and live with the rest.

Stefan kissed Elena's ear as they watched Bonnie and Damon receive marriage advice from their mother. The couple looked so happy. Elena wanted that. She needed that.

When Stefan and Elena were driving back to his apartment – their apartment – she looked over at him when she saw that they were not heading towards home anymore. "Where are we going?" she asked him.

"Someplace private" he told her, giving her a smile as he sped down the back road.

She was intrigued, but knew that he would never tell her. So she sat back and waited.

Twenty minutes later and Stefan had them parked in a secluded area and shut the car and the lights off. It was completely dark out by now, and that only peaked her interest. "So …" Elena said, looking over at Stefan.

He smiled as he leaned over and placed his arm around her before kissing her. What had started out so innocent turned pretty intense within a minute or two. Slowly though, he pulled away from her, allowing her to breathe. "I was thinking …" he told her, smiling at what he was about to say. He had been thinking all day, actually.

Elena couldn't help but laugh at him. She already knew. "You were thinking that I would want to have sex with you, in your car, out in the middle of nowhere?" she asked. Bingo.

Stefan smiled excitedly. "I was hoping" he told her. He let his hand wander away from her as he unbuckled her seatbelt. Then he pressed his lips against her ear. "Pretend like we're 17 again" he whispered.

Elena felt the chill run from her ear, all the way down to her toes. She had to admit. There was something alluring about having sex with Stefan in his car, smack dab in the middle of nowhere. Sure she was in her mid-twenties, but they had to keep things interesting, right? She smiled as she turned towards him, grabbing on to his tie. "Front seat or back seat?" she asked.

Just the thought of doing something like this with Elena quite honestly made him almost black out a little. The fact that Elena held the same sexual interests as him was unreal. "Front" he told her. They could explore the back seat later.

Elena unbuckled Stefan's seatbelt and carefully climbed over to straddle him in his seat. She began kissing him as her hands skillfully worked on unbuttoning his pants. Elena couldn't help but smile when she felt Stefan's hands slide up under her dress, caressing her thighs. "Stefan" she said against his lips as she got his zipper down.

"What?" he breathed out, finding it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything but her hands.

She smiled. "Help me get my panties off" she said, sliding her hand into his pants. Now he definitely was going to black out, hearing her say something so innocent when he knew she was anything but innocent. His fingers dug into her waist before slowly finding their ability to tug down her panties. Elena sat up some and Stefan eventually got them down over her knees and off over her feet. "Thanks" she smiled, placing her lips over his again.

When her hand grabbed ahold of him firmly, he nearly jumped off of the seat. "Holy shit Elena!" he yelled out, breaking their kiss. He was panting so hard, feeling sorry for every damn soul out there not in his car with Elena right then.

"Want me to stop?" she asked, stilling her hand. She pulled her hand out of his pants, but his hand caught hers instantly.

"No" he struggled to get out. "Keep doing what you were doing" he encouraged, placing her hand back inside his pants. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. It was heavenly, what that hand of hers was doing to him.

Elena leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes, listening to his erratic breathing. So many times, he had driven her wild with foreplay. She realized she didn't return the favor nearly as often as she should have.

Stefan's hand slowly ran up along the inside of her thigh, touching her ever so slightly where she really needed him to touch her. "Ugh" she groaned. His fingers brushed against her again briefly. She kissed him, trying to tell him how much she wanted him to do to her exactly what she was doing to him. "Please" she whispered.

Stefan swore that anytime she ever asked for something like that, he wouldn't hesitate to give it to her. His tongue ran over her lips, tasting her vanilla chap stick, before her lips parted and his tongue met hers. A hot make-out session while they were touching each other might have been the best idea they had had in quite a long time. Stefan's hand continued to touch her, this time, not letting up. And Elena was completely okay with that. But it was hard to focus on pleasing him when all she felt was a building sensation caused by his hand and his breath against her face.

They were so consumed with kissing and touching that Elena thought that was all they were going to do. So when Stefan removed his hand and then hers, she felt kind of disappointed. He lifted himself up some to get his pants and briefs down and out of the way. Then he grabbed the bottom of Elena's dress and bunched it up before inviting her to sit down on top of him.

It was one long, anticipated moan from both of them as they sat there, still for a moment and enjoying the feel of one another. Elena looked down at them and then back into his eyes. They were staring right back into hers, full of so much love and so much lust that she couldn't help but kiss above his brow, letting him know that she loved and wanted him too.

She closed her eyes and rested her head against the side of his, just wanting as much contact as possible.

But that wasn't going to work for him, her not looking into his eyes. Not this time. "Look at me" he told her, quietly. Elena lifted her head and met his eyes again. "I want to see you" he told her. His hands held onto her waist and Elena slowly began to move, never taking her eyes off of his.

Up and down, slowly at times and faster at others. But they looked at each other the whole time.

It was beautiful, but more importantly, she felt like they knew each other inside and out now. Mentally and physically, she would trust him no matter what. There was that space of vulnerability between them, and both were okay with the risk.

"I love you" he told her. It was impossible not to. She was everything he was looking for. His other half.

"I love you, Stefan" she said, gripping his shoulders when she felt his hands grip her waist. "So much" she whispered.

Stefan allowed them to break eye-contact long enough for them to kiss.

His hands eventually reached up and tangled in her hair. "You're so beautiful" he told her.

"I'm covered in sweat" Elena laughed lazily. She was getting tired. Her hair was probably a mess too, between his hands and the humidity they had created inside the car.

Stefan smiled. "Yeah, but I'm making you sweat" he said against her ear. It was true.

Just a few kisses here and a few touches there and Elena was gone, taking him with her. Finally.

Elena collapsed on top of him, unable to move. Her legs were sticking to his leather seat as he caressed her calves. "I miss this" she said softly. "Spontaneous moments" she clarified.

Stefan kissed her shoulder lightly and smiled. "What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked her. Sunday. The last day of the weekend. They could be spontaneous. More than once, too.

Elena sighed. "Bonnie asked me to lunch. Then we'll probably go baby shopping after" she added. Elena thought Bonnie would have wanted to spend her day with Damon, but apparently not, since she would get the entire honeymoon to see him once they left.

Stefan kissed her shoulder again. "That's too bad" he told her. "Maybe tomorrow night" he said.

Elena smiled. "That will definitely work" she replied. "But you will have to get me to bed at a reasonable time. I start work on Monday" she added.

Stefan's head popped up and his hands slowly moved to brush her messy hair out of her face. "You're coming back to work?" he asked her, a ridiculous smile on his face. He had missed her sitting across from him so much.

Elena nodded. "I figure it was time I got back to doing what I do best" she said.

"Bossing me around?" he asked, still smiling.

Elena smiled too. "No. Numbers" she corrected. She leaned in and brushed her lips against his lightly. "And maybe bossing you around" she finally added.

Stefan growled quietly, making her giggle. "God I love you" he said, pressing his lips against hers once again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena followed Bonnie across the crosswalk, on their way to breakfast. "So, if you don't mind, I'd like to check out some of the baby boutiques after breakfast" Bonnie told her.

Elena smiled. She couldn't help it because Bonnie's smiles were infectious. Then again, Bonnie was married the day before and anxiously awaiting a romantic getaway with Damon. "That sounds great" Elena told her. Elena checked her phone as they approached the restaurant. She looked up and saw that it looked dark inside. "Bonnie, I don't think this place is open" Elena told her. "The lights are off." Elena was pretty sure that not everyone was going to bend to Bonnie's pregnancy cravings, not matter how badly she wanted into the restaurant.

"No, they're open" Bonnie assured her.

"Okay" Elena said hesitantly, opening the door. She stepped inside and saw that it was actually in fact, dark.

For a split second.

Then, the restaurant lights came on, offering a dim lighting so she could see roses everywhere. In vases on the tables. In petals covering the floor. In decorations high above her. She was in awe as she turned around to look for Bonnie. Bonnie was still outside, but she had the biggest smile on her face as she waved to Elena and then disappeared.

Elena turned around and walked a little further into the room, wondering what was going on. Moments later, Stefan appeared from around the corner, dressed in a suit and tie and holding a single red rose. He looked calm and collected, smiling as he watched her try and figure out what he was doing. "Stefan? What's going on?" she asked.

Stefan stopped right in front of her and handed her the rose, which she gladly took. Then he leaned in and kissed her softly for a moment.

Stefan pulled away reluctantly, but he was equally as excited to get on with what he had planned. "The first time I laid eyes on you, I was sitting here" he said, looking at the table beside them. Elena looked at the table for a moment, remembering that this was indeed the restaurant where they had met. When they had been assigned to have dinner together to weasel information out of one another.

Stefan grabbed her hands and held them in his own. "Everyone can see how beautiful you are, Elena" he told her softly. Then he smiled. "But when I sat down with you, I instantly fell in love with how inquisitive and brilliant you are." Elena felt herself blush slightly and her nerves take over. Was he doing what she thought he was doing? "From the moment I left this restaurant all those months ago, I knew I needed you in my life. And I got so incredibly lucky, because I am standing here with you right now, about to do the most important thing I have ever done in my life." He pulled a small box out of his pocket and got down on one knee.

"Stefan" she squeaked, barely able to breathe. She looked down at him, at his eyes looking up into hers.

"Elena, marry me" he said, choosing to tell her rather than ask her. Because he couldn't take no for an answer.

A few tears finally fell from her eyes. Happy tears though. "Okay" she whispered. "Yes, yes I will marry you Stefan" she clarified. She watched Stefan smile as he took the ring and placed it on her finger. Elena took note of how shaky his hand was, and she wondered if he was nervous that she would say no.

He stood up and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him as he kissed her. Gentle and slow, no matter how much he wanted to just ravish her right then and there. When he did break the kiss, he couldn't stop looking at her and smiling. "You're sure you want to get hitched?" he asked her. "Because once we do, I'm not letting you go" he told her.

Elena laughed. She could hardly take him seriously most of the time, especially when he used words like "hitched" which was completely outside of his city boy vocabulary. "Yes" she told him. Then she looked at him seriously. "How did you get them to rent out the restaurant to you this morning?" she asked.

Stefan shrugged. "I told them how madly in love I am with you and the sentimental story of how we met" he told her. Elena raised her eyebrow to question his answer. How they met was anything but sentimental. "I gave them a really, really nice discount on all of their coffee needs" he finally said. "By the way, don't look at the transaction for this restaurant until after we are married" he told her. Because he really had given them one heck of a deal and Elena would have not been happy with the loss in profit.

Elena looked alarmed. "Wait, what kind of a discount?" she asked, dropping her newly engaged blissful happiness and going straight into CFO mode.

He was screwed. "No no" he told her, grabbing her hand. "Look at your pretty ring and remember how much I love you" he told her, trying to sweet talk her. And who couldn't be sweet-talked by Stefan?

Elena smirked. He was good. He always was. She looked at her ring and then back at him. "It is beautiful" she told him. "And I know how much you love me. But come tomorrow when I go back to work, you had better run and hide when I see the transaction" she warned. She didn't do well with others messing up her plans for business.

"Oh believe you me, I will" he told her. Then he grabbed her hand and brought her over to a table with an elegant breakfast waiting. "I know you thought Bonnie was taking you to breakfast, so I figured I should at least have it ready for you" he told her. Bonnie had been more than willing to help with the surprise for Elena.

Elena sat down and smiled. "As much as I love Bonnie …" she said, holding up her left hand to gaze at her engagement ring. "I'm really happy that I am here, with you" she told him.

She just melted his heart. Because he knew she meant it. And knowing that Elena wanted to be there with him and to spend the rest of her life with him meant more to him than she would ever know. "I've never been happier than I am right now, Elena" he told her. His eyes told her he was absolutely telling the truth. It made her stop smiling and he noticed that something was wrong. "What is it?" he asked her, concerned now with her change in mood.

Elena wiped at a pesky tear that got away from her. Then she shook her head. "Nothing. It's just …" she trailed off, taking in a small breath. "This, a proposal, is something I have wanted since I can remember. And you just made it so effortless" she told him, wondering if she was making sense.

Stefan got it though. She wanted a marriage proposal from Gregory and she felt guilty for expecting it. But Gregory had never been in love with Elena as much as Stefan was right now. "Loving you is effortless, Elena" he told her softly. He reached across the table and grabbed her hand.

This only made her cry more. "Thank you" she told him, wiping at her tears with her free hand. "For this. For everything" she added.

Stefan kissed her hand and smiled. "You're welcome" he replied. "Love you" he whispered, smiling in an effort to get her to smile back.

And she did. She smiled a lot.

**A/N: I'm just giving up right now on love … ;) **


	46. Chapter 46

Stefan was extremely happy to have Elena living with him. Sure, he had spent the last three days lugging heavy boxes from her apartment to his, but it was completely worth it. Because every single morning, he was going to wake up like he was waking up right then. With Elena's legs tangled up in his and her hair taking up the entire pillow they were sharing.

Their alarm went off, but Stefan shut it off quicklu. They could be a little late to work. He kissed her temple and she snuggled closer to him. "Nice try" she whispered. "We have to get up."

Stefan's lips brushed against her ear. "You know what's awesome about being CFOs for my brother's company?" he asked. Elena shook her head, but smiled. "He can't fire us. We're family and we keep the company afloat financially" he whispered.

"No wonder your brother gives you such a hard time" Elena said. "You do everything you can to get out of working."

He rolled over on top of her, kissing her neck. Her weakness. "And why would I want to work when I have someone so beautiful in bed with me?" he asked.

Elena felt him smile against her skin and it only made her smile too. "You own half of a multi-million dollar company" Elena reminded him. He should have been more concerned about working.

"We own half of a multi-million dollar company" he corrected, whispering this close to her ear. Elena tensed for a moment before sitting up and pushing Stefan away. He sighed. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"The company isn't mine" she said, looking up at him. "It belongs to you and Damon."

Stefan tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as he looked into her eyes. "Yeah, but we're getting married, which means what's mine is yours too" he reminded her.

Elena slowly smiled. "You really are sweet, you know that?" she asked him.

"I'm incredibly sweet" he smiled as he leaned in to kiss her.

Elena let him, but she kept the kiss to a light peck. "But when it comes to the family business, it should stay yours and yours only" she said quietly. The company belonged to Damon and Stefan. Her place was to the side, offering her experience and expertise regarding finances.

Stefan understood what she was saying, but that didn't mean he liked it. "Are we talking separate bank accounts too?" he asked, only half joking. He was afraid she might want that too when they got married.

Elena shook her head and smiled. "Seeing as how my bank account has no money, I think we should share that" she told him. For the first time in her life, she really didn't have any money to her name. It was embarrassing and a little terrifying too.

"I told you I'd take care of that fine" he reminded her. All $50,000 of it. They had almost gotten into a fight over that discussion, actually.

Elena sighed. "I screwed up, Stefan. It was my responsibility to take care of it" she told him. She had been the naïve one, putting her trust in Gregory.

Stefan kissed her softly. "And it is my responsibility to take care of you now" he whispered. He grabbed her left hand and slowly brought it to his lips to kiss. He still got giddy inside when he would see Elena walk by, wearing the ring.

Elena slowly wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Do you want to do my community service for me?" she asked. Because the next six months' worth of weekends were going to suck.

Stefan laughed lightly. "I'll be right by your side every weekend" he promised, hugging her close. "Things are going to get so much better for us" he said, kissing her cheek.

"Things already are pretty great" she told him, pulling away from him. "And I'm not going to let my past mistakes get in the way of my future with you" she assured him. She had to tell herself that every day, because she refused to punish Stefan for things Gregory had done. Stefan deserved the best of her.

"Glad to hear it" he told her. "Now what can I do to make your day start off perfectly?" he asked her.

Elena smiled. "You can cook breakfast while I get ready for work" she told him. She felt his hands slowly slide their way up under her tank top.

"What else might start your day off perfectly?" he asked, hinting at exactly what he wanted. Sex. And he wasn't going to be picky about where or how.

"Coffee" she told him. She felt his shoulders sag, knowing he wasn't getting what he wanted. There just wasn't enough time to get naked that morning. "And I was hoping that when we got home, you and I could curl up on the couch and maybe have a little … us time" she said suggestively.

And he was back. He pulled her body closer to his, anticipating just what they would be doing in … ten hours or so. "I like what I am hearing" he told her.

Elena leaned back some and saw just how happy his face was. "I'll be looking forward to it" she told him.

Stefan grinned. "Probably not as much me" he told her. She rolled her eyes and got out from under him. "Can I at least still shower with you?" he asked.

"No" Elena said, getting off of the bed. Because they would both be late.

"Please?" he asked, giving her his most pathetic face. As if he would die if she did not let him go into the shower with her.

"Stefan, no" she said again. "We will be late" she reminded, grabbing the clothes from his closet that she wanted to wear. When she turned back around, he had his face in his pillow, clearly pouting. "Stefan, get up" she told him, grabbing the second pillow and hitting him with it.

"I can't. I'm too sad" he told her.

She groaned. If she had to live with this the next 70 years she didn't know what she would do. Was she supposed to give in? "Twenty minutes Stefan" she told him, setting clear boundaries. Well, as clear of boundaries as she could.

He popped up off of that bed like he was just waking up on Christmas morning. "The best twenty minutes of your life" he grinned, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the shower. She couldn't help but laugh at how uncoordinated he was at getting her pajamas off. It was to the point where she was squirming because his hands were tickling her as he reached for her top. "Would you hold still" he told her, attempting to get her top up and over her head.

Elena's phone could be heard ringing from the nightstand in their room where she had left it. Both stopped to listen for a moment and when Elena tried to leave the bathroom to get it, he stopped her. "I have to get that" Elena laughed, peeling his hands off of her waist as she tried to walk away again.

He wasn't letting go though. He had been promised 20 minutes in the shower and he wasn't giving that up because someone was calling her. "They'll leave a message" he assured her, dragging her backwards.

"It could be my aunt or my brother" she reminded him, again peeling his hands off of her.

Stefan finally let go so she could leave, but he still wasn't happy about it. "My 20 minutes doesn't start until you get back!" he called out after her. Elena smirked as she rounded the corner into the room.

Stefan started the water, getting it to the perfect temperature. He peeled his shirt off at about the time Elena walked back in. She gave a low whistle, because sometimes he did that to her. He flexed his biceps for her and she rolled her eyes. "Yes Stefan, I am well aware of your impeccable muscles" she told him.

Stefan walked towards her, grabbing the bottom of her top and pulling her towards him. "Who was it?" he asked.

"Someone from the East Coast interested in me working for him" Elena answered. She saw the worried look on his face. "I applied for a job over there after Gregory fired me. He wasn't interested at the time, but an opening became available recently and he was wondering if I was still interested" she explained. He still looked worried. "Stefan, I told him no" she assured him. "I've already got a job that I love. And a wonderful fiancé" she added, standing on her tippy toes to kiss him.

His arms wrapped around her, pulling her against him so he could deepen the kiss. As his lips slowly left hers, he realized that she sounded happy when she had talked about him and her job. And that was a great feeling. "If he calls back, I'll fly over there and kick his ass" Stefan told her.

"That won't be necessary" Elena smiled. She had been very clear that she was no longer interested. Elena placed a soft kiss against his lips. "Were we going to take that shower still?" she asked, hoping to get his mind off of the phone call. She tugged at his bottom lip playfully with her teeth.

"Uh huh" he said, stepping backward and pulling her with him. She gladly lifted up her arms so he could peel her top off and then she shimmied out of her bottoms while he tugged his shorts off. Elena stepped into the shower first, but Stefan wasn't far behind. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close. "I'm so glad you're staying here with me" he told her quietly. It wasn't just about her staying in his apartment. It was the fact that she was choosing to stay in Seattle, with him, rather than going back home.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else" she said, kissing his chest. And then Stefan used his hands to cup her face and bring her lips to his.

Three months ago, all he wanted was to save his company. Now, all he wanted, was her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan dropped Elena off at the front so he could park. She didn't want to be late, because their shower had lasted longer than she had wanted. But she could not be late on her first day back.

Betty was the first to greet her, getting her coffee. Elena engaged in small talk for a few minutes before wandering into her office. Nothing had changed as far as the arrangement went. She sat down and logged on to her computer.

She was feeling excited to be back. Sure, she had a lot to catch up on, but she really felt complete when she had a business to run.

A knock on the door caught her attention. Damon. She stood to greet him. "My brother? Late? No way" Damon said jokingly.

Elena smiled. "He's parking the car. Though, I didn't think it took this long to park a car" she replied.

Damon smiled too. For all he knew, his brother could have been listening to the radio in the car or walking down the street for coffee. Stefan worked on his own time when Elena wasn't there to monitor him. "I guess congratulations are in order" he said, walking towards her desk. Elena looked down at her ring and couldn't help but smile. "Welcome to the family" Damon said, offering his arms out for a hug, which Elena accepted. "And it is good to have you back" he added.

When the hug ended, Elena nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Thank you Damon" she said. "For everything. I really appreciate you letting me come back here, after everything."

Most companies would have let her go, especially after the embezzlement crisis. "You're an amazing CFO, Elena. And I wasn't going to punish you for something Gregory did" he told her. "Besides, Stefan's pretty much useless without you here" he added, cracking another joke.

"I resent that" Stefan said from behind them.

Elena smiled. It was silly how much she had missed him in the five minutes they had been separated. "You know it's true" Damon said, walking towards Stefan.

Stefan shrugged. Yeah, it was true. He didn't get anything done if he didn't have Elena there to make him. "How about you get out so me and my fiancé can keep your company going" Stefan said, eyeing his brother.

Damon glared at him playfully and then they engaged in one of those brotherly wrestling matches right there in the office. "Alright you two" Elena said. "I have work to do" she added, sitting back down at her desk. Stefan and Damon let go of each other, slapping shoulders instead as Damon said goodbye and left the office. "You two are such brothers" Elena said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm the better looking one though" Stefan said, sitting down in his chair. Elena rolled her eyes. But yeah, she agreed. "He and Bonnie are leaving for their honeymoon soon" he mentioned. Elena nodded. It would give her time to catch up on work with Damon gone. "Where should we go on our honeymoon?" he asked.

Elena peered over her computer at him. "You're thinking about that already?" she asked. They hadn't even set a date yet.

"How about Disneyland?" he asked. "The happiest place on Earth" he added with a grin.

"I'm pretty sure every time you grin like that, you're thinking about sex" she told him.

"Pretty much" Stefan told her. She blushed. "So, is that a yes for Disneyland?" he asked.

"I was thinking someplace tropical" Elena told him, having thought about this somewhat after he proposed. She went back to typing. "So I could wear a skimpy bathing suit" she added. She heard the pen drop that Stefan was holding. Clearly, she had his attention. "Maybe a private beach so I wouldn't have to wear anything at all." Then she heard him typing frantically on his computer. "What are you doing?" she asked, peering over her computer at him again.

"Finding a private beach in the Tropics" he told her.

Elena smiled. It wasn't that she didn't like Disneyland. But a warm place on a beach was more to her liking. Elena stood up and walked over behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "I'm going to check the mail room" she whispered.

"Yep" he replied, not interested and still searching for the private beach.

She kissed his cheek again and smiled as she left the room. She had a feeling that nothing about their marriage would be boring.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena had been in and out of the office all day, doing various tasks that needed to be done. Overall, she felt accomplished. And she was pretty sure Stefan got nothing work-related done. She sat down in her chair to log off for the day when he stood and dropped a piece of paper in front of her. "Virgin Islands" he said proudly. It had taken him all day to narrow a honeymoon spot down. But he had done it. "I'm thinking two weeks on our own private beach" he said, leaning down and wrapping his arms around her, much like she had done to him earlier.

Elena smiled, loving the sound of that. "I guess we should set a date then" Elena said, opening up the calendar on her phone. "I was thinking September, so we could still have an outside wedding" she mentioned.

Stefan looked at the calendar and nodded. "The 7th" he said. "Then we take the two weeks off after that for our honeymoon" he said.

Elena smiled. It was much more real now that they had set a date. "We have a lot to do in the next few months" she told him.

"We do" he agreed. He was silent for a moment before asking her what else was on his mind. "Do you have a location in mind?" he asked her, kissing the top of her head.

Elena shrugged. "Do you have one?" she asked. She figured he did if he was bringing it up this soon.

Stefan shrugged too. "I was hoping somewhere around here" he told her, thinking she might want to go back to Virginia for the wedding. "So my mom can be there" he added.

Elena turned slightly in her chair to face him, realizing that his mother wouldn't be able to travel far from the facility she was living in. It was so important to him that she be there and Elena could see that. Besides, her family could all travel. "You pick the spot" she told him. "I'll love anything you choose" she said, smiling softly.

Stefan couldn't help but kiss her immediately. "Thank you" he told her, kissing her again briefly. "Are you ready to go home?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "I just need to run to the bathroom real fast" she told him, standing up.

Stefan moved away slightly so she could get up. "Don't be long" he whispered, smiling when he saw her roll her eyes. But he got a great view of her walking away and wondered why he hadn't shown more interest in that skirt she had been wearing all day. It was appropriate enough for work, but it was a total turn-on because he knew what was under it.

Elena's footsteps had long disappeared down the hall when he decided that it might be a great idea to surprise her in the bathroom. Everyone else had gone home, so it wasn't like they would get caught.

He peeked his head out of the office and saw that the hallway was empty. Then he was on his way towards the bathroom.

Elena was washing her hands when Stefan snuck up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. "Jesus Stefan" Elena gasped, turning the water off and shaking her hands to remove the excess water.

"Surprise" he smiled, kissing her neck.

Elena was trying hard not to give in. "I thought we were going home?" she asked, trying to distract him.

"Not quite yet" he told her, letting his hands slide down her waist and then down her hips. "Have I told you how much I love this skirt on you?" he asked, fully intending to get into it.

"You haven't" Elena smiled, enjoying where this was going.

His hands grabbed the bottom of the skirt and slowly began inching it upwards. Elena tilted her head to the side, feeling Stefan's lips continue their sweet torture against her skin. Just when he thought he was on a roll, something wasn't right. He furrowed his brow as his lips left her neck. He heard her whine in discontent. "What the?" he asked, turning Elena around to face him and lifting up her skirt more. "What is this?" he asked. "Where are your panties?" he asked, searching. It was like she was wearing shorts under her skirt, and those shorts were attached, preventing him from getting to his destination. He was clearly upset about this. Elena couldn't help but laugh though as her head fell forward onto his shoulder. "This is not a laughing matter" he said, clearly frustrated with the situation. He tugged on her skirt again to make sure it was really attached to the shorts.

Elena was still laughing at him, but managed to calm herself down enough to talk. "It is a skort, Stefan" she told him.

"A what?" he asked, more confused than ever now.

Again, she laughed. "A skort" she repeated. "A skirt with shorts." She looked up at him and saw how perplexed he looked.

"Why in the hell would someone invent something so inconvenient?" he asked her. "I mean, a guy should be able to get his girl's skirt up in a hurry" he stated, almost as if he was stating a basic fact. "This thing is horrible. You have to throw it out" he told her, letting the skirt part fall back down.

Elena smiled. "I'm not throwing it out, Stefan" she told him. He backed away from her, clearly heartbroken that she wouldn't agree to his request. The skort had to go. "Besides" she grinned, grabbing onto the skort and tugging it down a few inches. "You can always slide it down."

Stefan watched her carefully for a moment. "Not the same" he sighed, turning and leaving the bathroom.

She stood there with her mouth slightly open. She was shocked that that hadn't worked. Finally, she pulled her skort back up and went to find him.

He was sitting in his desk chair, spinning in slow circles. She had to laugh at how serious he was taking this whole thing. Slowly, Elena approached him and sat down on his lap. Stefan stopped spinning and wrapped his arms around her. "I love you" she told him.

Stefan rested his head against her shoulder. "I love you too. But I hate your skort" he told her, grinning. Yes, he was kidding about being so disappointed. Well, sort of.

Elena leaned her head down some so her mouth was right over his ear. "How about you take me home and I'll let you get it off of me?" she asked. "You can throw it across the room if that would make it better" she added, smiling.

"Okay" he agreed, standing suddenly and picking Elena up.

"Sometimes I don't know what to do with you" she told him, grabbing her bag as he carried her.

"Luckily for you, you have a lifetime to figure it out" he said, carrying her out of the office.

"Yeah, lucky me" she said sarcastically, earning her a swat on the butt as they walked outside. "Let's stop and pick up pizza" she told him as they walked towards the car.

"Promise to get rid of the skort and I'll stop for pizza" he said, setting her down so she could get in the car.

Elena groaned. "I'm not getting rid of the skort Stefan" she told him, getting in. "You liked it until you found out it wasn't functional for your needs" she reminded him.

"Exactly" Stefan told her. It prevented him from getting his needs met. "You don't want to get rid of the skort, I don't want to get you pizza" he said. He buckled up and looked over at Elena who was now on her phone. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Ordering pizza" she said smugly. "Yes, delivery please" she said to the employee on the other line.

Stefan threw his hands up. "Unbelievable" he said. "You don't even listen to me" he said, pretending to be irritated with her. But he couldn't. She was his exact other half. Beautiful, smart, and she did what she wanted, when she wanted. He admired that about her. All of it.

If he could have been more in love with her right then, he would have.


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N: Wow, this story is getting so long! Yet I am having a hard time ending it. I hope you are all still enjoying it though.**

**Please leave me a review or a tweet and let me know what you think! I appreciate your support!**

**Also, look for a one-shot of SE from the show next weekend I hope! I was encouraged to write it.**

Elena brushed her teeth that night, full from the pizza she had made Stefan get her. It had been a great night as they watched some ridiculous TV show and Stefan tried to convince her that he could be on the next game show and that he would ultimately win. For her.

Elena put her toothbrush down and looked up into the mirror. She found Stefan's eyes looking back at her. He smiled, and so did she. "I love you" he mouthed into the mirror.

Elena's heart melted just a little. "I love you" she mouthed right back.

"You want sex?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as he tried to be funny.

"No" she laughed, dropping her gaze in the mirror. "You totally ruined a romantic moment, you know" she told him, smiling.

Stefan's arms were around her instantly, pulling her against him as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "My sex is romantic" he whispered.

Elena grabbed his hands with hers as he playfully tried to tickle her. "Not tonight" she told him, resting her head against his chest.

"No?" he asked, kissing her hair, taking in the scent of her shampoo. "What about a really good massage?" he asked.

Elena closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of him holding her. "Any excuse to touch me" she murmured.

"Damn right" he growled against her skin, kissing her neck softly. "So?" he asked, hoping she would say yes. It would do wonders for her tension and her stress.

"Okay" she said, giving in. As soon as he had the green light, he quickly picked her up, holding her as he walked with her to their bed. He set her down gently, and then landed on top of her, pressing his body into hers and kissing her. She almost let him get away with it. "Stefan" she warned.

"I know, I know" he sighed, trailing his lips down her neck and along her shoulders. "Turn over" he told her, nipping at the sensitive skin on the inside of her arm. He heard her hiss quietly and knew he had her right where he wanted her. Like she could tell him no when he was touching her like that.

Elena sat up and took her shirt off, letting him get a nice view before smiling at him as she turned over on her stomach. So, she was a little tease that night.

Stefan straddled her legs, reaching down and pressing his hands against her back. Slowly, he massaged her skin, moving up her back and to her shoulders. She had her eyes closed, and her content sighs made him smile. "This feels really nice" she murmured softly.

He smiled as his fingers gently worked into her tense shoulders. "Hey Elena?" he asked. He waited a moment before continuing. "What do you think about us buying a house together?" he asked. He had been tossing around the idea since his mother had suggested it.

She was quiet for a moment, before she turned her head slightly to look at him. "You want to buy a house with me?" she asked.

Stefan smiled. "Yeah. I'm marrying you. It only makes sense that we get a house too" he explained. "Unless you like living here in the city. I just thought maybe a little more privacy would be nice" he explained.

"Two months ago, I didn't have anything" she said, remembering how Gregory had left her and taken her job from her. "And now I have a job, and a fiancé, and we're getting a house" she said, smiling.

Stefan leaned down, resting his head against hers. "You've had me since the night we met" he whispered, kissing her temple lightly. "Even if you didn't know it."

Elena turned onto her back slowly, reaching her arms around him and pulling him closer to her, so she could feel his weight against her. It made her feel secure. "Stefan, I love you" she whispered, feeling silly that she was now crying. Sometimes, her emotions got the best of her, especially when he was being so sweet and loving. "I'm sorry" she said, not wanting to cry in front of him like that.

Stefan pulled away from her slightly and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She had such beautiful eyes. "You don't have to be sorry for crying" he whispered. His lips brushed against her forehead, lingering there for a few moments.

This only made her cry more as she pulled him closer again. "I'll be done in a minute" she assured him, laughing at herself as he laughed at her. "Thank you for being so sweet."

"You make it easy" he told her. He hugged her close and smiled. "And I'm not even saying all these nice things to get you to have sex with me" he added. He figured if she hadn't been crying, she would have rolled her eyes.

"When can we look for a house?" she asked, her tears slowing down.

Stefan kissed her lips slowly. "Tomorrow" he told her. And he was so excited. The thought of owning a home together brought them one step closer to being a married couple.

"Tomorrow" she repeated softly, stifling a small yawn as she did. It had been a long first day back and she hoped that come next week, she would be back into the swing of things without feeling so tired.

"You're tired" he smiled, touching his nose to hers. "You should get some sleep." He sat up and she inwardly whined from the loss of contact.

Elena got up though, wandering on over to his dresser and pulling out one of his t-shirts. It was one of her favorites to sleep in. A maroon color with his last name on the back and a football symbol on the front. She quickly slipped it over her head and lost her pajama bottoms, tossing them in the hamper.

Stefan smiled as he sat on the bed and waited for her. "You might as well keep that shirt in your dresser" he told her. Elena smiled as she slipped into bed, curling under his arm. "You wear it more than I do" he whispered, kissing the side of her head.

"I like being able to get it out of your dresser" she told him. It made it more appealing that she had to take it from him.

"Alright then" he smiled, turning his lamp off and sinking further down into the bed with her. "Goodnight" he said softly.

"Goodnight" she told him, kissing just under his chin before snuggling closer.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Saturday had finally come. Stefan was spending the morning with Bonnie because Elena was doing her community service. She was vague on exactly what she would be doing, but it wasn't picking up garbage like Stefan had teased her about. Either way, it took up all of Elena's Saturday mornings and Bonnie knew this.

Instead of sleeping in that Saturday, Bonnie was dragging him around to every single baby shop and boutique in the city of Seattle. "Shouldn't you find out what you are having first, before you start buying so much stuff?" Stefan asked. Because he was only one person and already, he had ten bags on each arm.

Bonnie smiled. "Whether boy or girl, he or she can wear and use all of this" she told him. "We're not raising our child to adhere to the gender norms of this society" she added.

Stefan wondered when she was going to have this conversation with Damon, because there was no way in hell that Damon was going to let his son wear pink pants. Or his daughter wear camo. "I need to pick out a crib" she told him, wandering over to another section of the current baby store they were in.

Stefan followed. "Bonnie, are we going to get something to eat soon?" he asked. He was starving.

"In a bit" she assured him, browsing the cribs.

"What about this one?" Stefan asked, standing next to a white one that looked fine to Stefan.

Bonnie came to test it out, unlocking it and putting the side of the crib down. Then she stared at it. "No. Damon would find a way to pinch his fingers in this one" she said. Stefan couldn't help but laugh. Yeah, his brother would do that. "I like this one" she said, looking at a dark brown crib with decorative carving in the wood.

"Great, let's buy it" he told her excitedly. Then maybe they could go and get food. But Bonnie was wandering away to look at another crib and Stefan groaned.

Bonnie laughed at him. "Just wait until you are doing this with Elena" she told him. Stefan froze, then looked uncomfortable, and then froze again. Kids? With Elena? "Oh come on, you haven't thought about having a baby with Elena?" she asked him.

"Well yeah" he replied. That had been one of the reasons he had been so upset with Elena turning herself in. Because that almost cost him a future with her, kids included. Stefan sat down in a nearby rocker on display and sighed. "I just wasn't planning on having kids anytime soon" he told her, sounding worried.

Bonnie smiled softly as she came back over to him, making him move over so she could sit with him. "Stefan. Sweetie" she told him, running her hand through his hair that definitely needed a haircut sometime soon. "I'm not saying Elena will get pregnant tomorrow or next year or even in the next five years" she told him. "I'm just saying …" she told him, finding her words to not be coming as easily as she wanted them too. "That you and Elena are going to be so happy" she said. "And you, fussing over a pregnant Elena? That will be adorable" she added.

Stefan smiled at her. "I will. I will fuss over Elena" he agreed. "I guess I just get a little freaked out when I think about starting a family" he admitted. "I feel like you guys are rushing me" he added with a playful smile.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "There's no rush, Stefan" she told him. "Elena is a career-driven woman. She'll probably want to wait. And in the meantime, you can hang out with my baby" she smiled.

"Okay" he told her. He could live with that. "Can we go and eat now?" he asked.

Bonnie nodded. "Yes" she told him. "I just need to buy that crib over there and have it delivered" she said.

Stefan couldn't have been happier. "Great" he told her, picking up the bags and walking towards the counter with Bonnie. "Bonnie?" he asked, seeing that she was walking away from the counter towards the strollers. "Hey!" he called out. "No no no" he said, seeing that she was testing the strollers out now. Every. Single. One. Stefan groaned as he sat back down on a nearby chair.

Yes, he was hungry. But he was missing Elena, too.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan was waiting on the couch for Elena to get home from her community service. It was almost noon and he was missing her terribly. A knock on his door made him groan. He swore if it was Bonnie, back to ask him to go with her to another store, he was going to move.

Stefan got up and opened the door, only to smile when he saw who it was. "Miss me, handsome?" Katherine asked, leaning her arm against the doorframe as she smiled at him.

"Always" Stefan told her, opening up his arms and bringing her into a hug. "What are you doing here?" he asked, squeezing her tight before letting her go.

"Well, when I heard about Bonnie's unfortunate circumstance, I figured I had better find some time to come and see her" she said, walking past Stefan and into his apartment.

Stefan shut the door and looked at her curiously. "Unfortunate circumstance?" he asked.

Katherine helped herself to the bottle of bourbon on the table, pouring herself a glass. "Her getting pregnant" Katherine clarified, taking a sip of the drink she now held loosely in her hand.

Stefan laughed at her. Katherine had never expressed any interest in children. In fact, she hated them. "She's happy. They're both happy" he informed her.

Katherine rolled her eyes at him. "All those brats do is scream and whine until they move out" she reminded him. "But you know what? Better her than me" she added.

"I think a phone call to Bonnie would have worked in this instance" he told her.

"Yeah, well. Aunt Katherine had to make her presence known at some point" she shrugged. Then she sat down.

"Aunt Katherine?" he asked. "It's … fitting" he said, teasing her.

"Oh shut up" she glared. "Besides, Bonnie's baby gave me a new idea for my company" she told him. "A baby fashion line" she said as her eyes lit up.

Stefan laughed at her again. "Yes, because every mother and father dream of seeing their 6-month old wearing leather and stilettos" he said.

"Stefan, good fashion sense should be introduced to a person the day he or she is born" she told him. "It might have done wonders for you" she said, hinting at his current attire. Sweats and a sleeveless shirt. "Speaking of your atrocious attire, I have pants, shirts and jackets in the mail for you. From my spring collection for men" she told him.

Oh good. Elena was going to love Stefan prancing around in Katherine's clothing collection. "Thank you" he told her, wanting to be polite. She did have good taste, and she was talented. Even if she was a little crazy.

Katherine looked around his place and saw picture after picture of him and Elena. It was nauseating, to be honest. "You and Elena are still a thing?" she asked, taking a big drink from her glass.

Stefan smiled. "We're set in stone" he replied. "I've asked her to marry me" he added.

Katherine groaned. "You too?" she asked. "What is it with you people, getting married and having babies. There really is more to life, you know" she told him. Like going out until 2 AM and going shopping every day.

"I love the life I have now" Stefan told her. He sounded so sincere that it made her sick.

"So I guess I should stop hoping that you will drop everything and come live with me in New York?" she asked him. She really did miss him.

Stefan grabbed her hand in his. "You can't hope for that anymore" he told her softly. "I love her. And I am so unbelievably happy with her" he told Katherine.

"We'll see" Katherine smirked. "I should probably go and see Bonnie now" she said, standing.

"You should stop by and get her a double bacon cheeseburger before you get there" Stefan said, standing with her. "She's been craving them lately and Damon won't bring her one" he added.

"I love a good excuse to piss Damon off" Katherine smirked.

Stefan walked her towards the door at about the time Elena came through it. Elena froze, locking eyes with Katherine and then with Stefan. "Katherine" she said, surprised to see her there.

"Elena, darling" Katherine purred, loving that she could see the jealousy in Elena's eyes. It was just so easy. "I just stopped by to see my favorite Salvatore" she smiled, stroking Stefan's arm lightly.

Stefan decided it was time for Katherine to go. "Weren't you on your way to see Bonnie?" he asked, holding the door open for her.

"Oh Stefan, trying to get rid of me are you?' she flirted. "But yes, my best friend is in need of some girl time" she smiled. "I'll be in touch" she said, winking at him. "Goodbye, Elena" she said, walking out.

Stefan let the door shut behind her and turned around to see Elena walking away. He sighed.

He found her changing into a clean pair of clothes. "She just showed up" Stefan said, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms.

That didn't mean he had to let her in. "I didn't say anything" Elena replied. But no, she didn't like it. She had been gone since before Stefan woke up, only to come home to find him with Katherine.

"You didn't have to" he sighed, coming into the room and wrapping his arms around her. She was stiff and didn't melt into his embrace like she usually did. "She's just a friend" he told her, trying to comfort her.

"So you've said" she replied bitterly, attempting to get out of his embrace to go and busy herself with some mindless task so she didn't stew in her jealousy.

But he didn't let her go. "I told her how much I love you, how happy you make me" he said softly against her ear. "How I asked you to marry me" he added, grabbing her left hand and running his thumb over her engagement ring. "And she laughed and mocked every word I said" he added. "Because she doesn't know what it means to be madly in love with someone" he whispered. "I'm so madly in love with you" he told her, hugging her tight against him and kissing her ear. "Please don't be upset that she was here. I would never do anything to jeopardize what we have. I'd never hurt you like that."

Elena closed her eyes, finding it hard to be jealous when he said things like that to her. "Thank you" she said, turning around in his arms and wrapping hers around his neck. "She just gets to me sometimes" Elena admitted.

"She's Katherine. She's pretty much harmless" he promised. He kissed her for a moment, feeling Elena relax. "How was your morning?" he asked, changing the subject.

Elena rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. "I missed you" she answered. She pretty much spent every hour of the day with Stefan, whether at work or at home. So five hours away from him that morning had been difficult.

"Bonnie took me shopping for baby stuff" Stefan told her. "It was horrible. I felt like a pack mule and to top it off, she had to look at everything" he said.

Elena smiled. "She's excited" Elena told him.

"I know" Stefan said, running his hands slowly up and down Elena's back. "I just missed you too." They were quiet for a moment before Stefan spoke again. "Do you want to go to the ocean?" he asked her. They hadn't been since the first time he had taken her. "We could get a room on the beach and stay the night" he said. Sure, it would be a short trip, but it would be time away, with her.

Elena lifted her head from his chest and smiled. "Yes" she told him. "Yes, I would love to go to the ocean with you."

Stefan smiled as he leaned down and kissed her again. "Pack a bag" he told her.

Elena smiled as she moved away from him, grabbing her overnight bag out of the closet. Stefan watched her focus on packing the bag, adding various items. It made him smile, just to watch her move about. This was going to be his life from then on out. And that was more than okay with him.

She was perfect, without being perfect.

**A/N: I love him. I love him so much.**


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N: I think this update was needed to help our broken hearts. I hope you find it both funny and adorable. **

**Reviews are always lovely! Thanks for reading!**

**WARNING: Sexy time is present. And Stefan is perfect. You've been warned.**

Stefan juggled three of Elena's bags and one of his own as he fished the keycard out of his pocket and opened the door to their hotel. Elena had offered to carry at least one of her bags, but he had refused to let her.

Once they were inside, Stefan dropped their bags at the foot of the bed. He watched Elena stand in front of the window, looking outside at the ocean that was just a short walk away. Slowly, he walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her ear. "So sex and then dinner?" he asked, clearly having no issue with voicing his intentions to her.

Elena giggled. It was completely like him to be that forward about what he wanted. "It's going to be dark soon. I want to go walk along the beach first" she told him. Watching the sun set at the beach was something she had loved ever since she was a kid.

"Let's compromise" he told her. "Sex first, then dinner and then a walk on the beach" he said.

Elena scoffed. "How is that a compromise? You still get what you want first" she told him.

Stefan hugged her closer to him and kissed her neck slowly. "Please?" he asked, being completely cute and adorable and a pain in Elena's ass. Most of the time, she gave in.

But not this time. She wanted to see the sun set. "You can stay here and have sex with yourself" she informed him. "I am going to go and watch the sun set."

Stefan groaned. "You know I don't like doing it by myself" he whined.

This only had Elena laughing. "Then you can wait until we get back from our walk" she told him.

Stefan rested his chin on her shoulder and sighed. "There's only one fair way to decide this" he said. "Rock Paper Scissors."

Elena turned around and saw how completely serious he was. "You are hilarious Stefan" she told him.

"Come on, back to back" he said, turning his back to her. "If I win, we have sex now. If you win, we wait until later" he told her.

Elena placed her hands on her hips. "And what if I don't want to have sex at all tonight?" she asked.

"Not an option" Stefan stated. "Come on, back to back" he encouraged.

Elena sighed. "Unbelievable" she muttered, turning her back to his.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yep" Elena said, less than thrilled.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors" Stefan said, turning around at the same time as Elena. She threw paper and he threw rock. "Fuck" he said. Elena just smiled. "Best two out of three" he told her, turning back around.

"No" she said defiantly. "I won. Let's go" she told him.

"You always have to do best two out of three. Rules are rules" he told her.

Elena groaned. Had he won, there would have been no best two out of three. "You do realize I am marrying you, don't you?" she asked. "Rock Paper Scissors is not how we will settle our marital disputes" she informed him.

"We'll see about that" Stefan grinned. "Ready? Rock, Paper, Scissors" he said, turning around again. "Yes!" he yelled, having thrown rock while she threw scissors. Elena crossed her arms and glared at him. "Last time" he said, turning around again. "Rock, Paper, scissors" he said, turning to face her. Then he grinned. "Looks like my scissors beats your paper" he told her. She did not look happy. At all. "Pants off, Babe" he smirked.

"I have a counter proposal" she told him. She was going to go on her walk first if it killed her.

Stefan crossed his arms. "I'll probably reject it, but let's hear it" he told her.

Elena smiled. "If you go on a walk with me first, we can have sex when we get back in an hour" she told him. "And" she added, catching his interest. "I'll throw in midnight sex too" she told him.

Stefan stood frozen for a moment as he repeated her answer. "Midnight sex?" he asked. "Is that what I think it is?" he questioned.

Elena walked forward, placing her hands on his waist as she moved her hips up against his. It was an evil little trick of hers. "So we have sex when we get back, and then have some dinner …" she said softly, looking up into his eyes innocently. "And we fall asleep. And then at midnight, I wake you up … telling you that I want you" she said, smiling. As much as she was turning him on right then, she was turning herself on too.

His throat felt a little dry as he thought about what she was saying. "How … how are you going to wake me up?" he asked in a low, quiet voice. A bedroom voice of his, Elena had learned.

Elena smiled as she stood up on her tiptoes and whispered her answer in his ear. She felt his hands grab her waist as he steadied himself. "How does that sound?" she asked.

Stefan closed his eyes, envisioning what it would be like to wake up like that. "Holy shit I'm the luckiest guy alive right now" he said quietly.

Elena smiled. She was going to get her way. "So, can we go for a walk now?" she asked.

Stefan nodded. "Yeah" he said, letting his hand glide down her arm until he found her hand. "Let's go for a walk" he told her.

The short distance it had taken to get to the water was quiet. They held hands though and seemed to welcome just the sound of the birds and the waves. The sun was starting to sink. "I'd like to get married at sunset" she said eventually. The more she thought about it, the more she really thought it would be perfect.

Stefan brought their hands up to his mouth and he kissed hers. "Sunset sounds perfect" he said, reading her mind.

"Do you have a location in mind?" she asked him. She was curious. Mostly excited, but curious too.

Stefan smiled. "Thornewood Castle, down by Tacoma" he said. Elena looked up at him as they continued to walk. "We can have the wedding outside, overlooking the lake. So you can have your sunset" he added with a grin. "We could have the reception inside after it gets dark. And all our guests can stay in the castle."

"That sounds expensive" Elena said nervously. "I was kind of envisioning a small, low-key wedding" she told him.

Stefan laughed softly. "I'm only doing this once Elena" he told her. "So I figure we might as well do it right" he added.

It made her heart flutter, hearing him declare that he was going to be married to her until death do them part. "Really?" she asked. It was true. She had always wanted a big wedding. With a lot of guests and a lot of flowers and a big cake. "Can we have a horse drawn carriage?" she asked.

"Anything you want" he told her, wrapping is entire arm around her as they walked. "So, how happy was Jenna when you told her?" Stefan asked.

Elena looked down at her feet. She hadn't yet. It had been a week and she hadn't said a word. "I haven't told her yet" Elena told him.

Stefan looked down at her curiously. "Are you embarrassed to be marrying me?" he asked jokingly.

Elena shook her head no though. "I just wanted to tell her in person. But we haven't been able to find time in our schedules to get together" she explained.

Stefan leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Take next week off. Go see Jenna" he told her. Sure, he'd miss her like crazy. But he also knew she needed to see her family. She needed them.

"Stefan, I can't do that" she said, shaking her head. "I just came back to work and I can't already be asking for special treatment."

Stefan disagreed. "Since Damon will be away with Bonnie, that leaves me in charge. And I am telling you to take a week off and go and see Jenna and Alaric and Jeremy" he said. "In fact, I'm making you take a week off next week."

Elena smiled. "Okay" she told him. "Thank you" she told him. "I'm sure she will have plenty to say about this" Elena said, holding up her left hand.

"Good things I hope" Stefan said. "I killed a spider for her" he added.

Elena leaned against him and laughed. "And she appreciates your spider killing skills. But you know how protective she is over me" Elena sighed. "I know she'll be happy for us. But she'll always worry."

"I know where she's coming from. I worry about you too" he said, kissing the top of her head again.

Elena stopped, causing him to stop. "I love you" she said, reaching her hand up and caressing the side of his cheek. "Can we head back now?" she asked.

Stefan placed his hand on top of hers and nodded. "Let's go" he told her, smiling.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They barely got the door shut before clothes started to come off. They were kissing passionately, his hands on her waist as he pushed her backwards towards the bed. "Stefan!" she yelled, feeling herself trip over one of their bags and fall backwards. He fell right on top of her, continuing to kiss her. "Hey" she squealed, in an awkward position with her legs up in the air slightly and Stefan splayed out on top of her.

She felt his hands unbuttoning her jeans, sliding his hands inside and then working the jeans down her legs. Elena's fingers worked the buttons on his jacket, pushing it off of his shoulders. "What do you want for dinner?" Stefan asked, pulling her jeans off and throwing them across the hotel room.

Elena groaned as she tried to get his t-shirt off. "Are you really asking me that right now?" she asked.

Stefan sat up some and pulled his shirt off for her. "Yeah" he grinned, reaching down and pulling her shirt over her head. He smiled, loving that she was half naked under him. "You sure are beautiful, you know that?" he asked her.

Elena blushed. "I love it when you tell me that" she said, smiling up at him.

Stefan leaned down so he could whisper in her ear. "You're beautiful" he whispered. And then she was being pulled upright as he stood and brought her with him.

She jumped up, wrapping her bare legs around his waist playfully. "I love you" she smiled, kissing him. He walked her towards the bed, falling onto it with her.

"I love you" he told her, moving down the bed so he could lay soft warm kisses against her stomach. Elena sat up on her elbows some as she watched Stefan kiss his way downwards, stopping at the inside of her left thigh. She felt her breathing become a little more erratic, watching him kiss the inside of her thigh like that. The look in his eyes, pure desire, did nothing to help keep her calm. Elena lay back down and closed her eyes, sighing contently.

She felt him bite the inside of her thigh a moment later and it made her yelp out in surprise. She sat up again and looked down the bed at him, finding him smirking. "Did you just bite me?" she asked.

"Just wanted to make sure you were still with me" told her. She shook her head at him, but couldn't help but laugh. He leaned back and worked on getting his own pants off. Then his briefs. All the while she watched him. It didn't matter that she had seen him naked probably more than a hundred times now. It still took her breath away. "My eyes are up here" he told her, grinning when he saw how embarrassed she was at being caught staring at his lower half. She covered her eyes and Stefan laughed at her as his fingers looped over the waistband of her underwear, slowly sliding them down.

When they were off, he tossed them across the room, figuring they could find them later. Her bra was next, flying off in the other direction. He grabbed onto her foot, bringing his mouth to kiss the bottom of it, sucking lightly now and then. He wondered why he had never paid so much attention to her feet before. They were kind of perfect, just like she was.

Stefan slid his tongue across her ankle, moving upwards and nibbling lightly on her calf. He looked up and saw that her eyes were closed, and she was smiling. She liked the attention he was giving her. The slow, innocent attention. "Stefan" she murmured, feeling completely relaxed and adored. Stefan smiled as he put her foot down and slowly crawled his way back up to her. He switched the lamp off, making the room go completely dark. She opened her eyes and could barely see him. "No lights?" she asked curiously.

Stefan shook his head no, entering her slowly. Elena completely forgot all about the darkness as she felt him. He bent down slowly, kissing her lips gently as he eased himself back out, then back in. "I like relying on my other senses when I'm with you" he whispered against her lips. "Touch" he whispered, running his hand over her hip as he moved against her. "Smell" he whispered, burying his nose into her hair so he could smell her familiar shampoo. "Sound" he added, smiling because she was moaning softly right then. "And taste" he whispered, gently coaxing her mouth open with his and sliding his tongue in, getting the exact taste he was looking for.

Elena promised herself that the next time, she would let him win his stupid Rock Paper Scissors game. Because the way he was making her feel right then, beat everything.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Dinner after sex was always enjoyable. Elena and Stefan sat across from one another on the bed, both with their legs crossed and dressed in only their undergarments. They watched each other eat. Burgers and fries. Elena figured it was only fitting after sex. Especially slow, mind-blowing sex that had lasted almost an hour. Incredible sex.

Elena and Stefan smiled at each other, both thinking about what had happened fifteen minutes ago. "So … midnight sex …" he said, grinning. He was beyond excited. "That's in six hours" he reminded her.

Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm fully aware of what time it is" she told him, popping a french fry into her mouth. "You sure you will be ready for round two in six hours?" she asked.

Stefan set his french fries down and began crawling towards her. "I'm ready right now" he grinned, grabbing her and pinning her down. Elena laughed as she tried not to spill her food everywhere. "Stop squirming" he smiled as she wiggled under him.

"Midnight" she reminded, pressing her finger against his lips as he tried to kiss her.

"How about I trade midnight sex for right now sex?" he asked, trying to bargain with her. He parted his lips some so he could suck lightly on her finger.

"Not gonna happen" she told him, pulling her finger away and patting his cheek.

Stefan pouted, but retreated back towards his side of the bed. "How often do you think we'll have sex when we're married?" he asked.

Elena shrugged. "Probably the same as we do now" she answered. She didn't see why it would change. She also noticed how comfortable they were in talking about the topic of sex.

"Good answer" he said, balling up the wrapper from his burger and tossing it across the room into the garbage can.

"Do you think things will change between us at all?" she asked quietly.

Stefan could tell the mood had changed and that she was a tad bit concerned. "I'm sure things will change" he told her. "For the better. We're going to be this powerful married business couple who rules the world" he said, grinning.

Elena smiled just a little. "Marriages are hard" she mentioned, thinking about how so many of them ended in divorce.

Stefan reached over and grabbed her hands in his. "Life is hard" he told her sincerely. "But we still live it."

Spoken like a true man in love, she thought. "I can't wait to be your wife" she said. The thought of it was exciting.

Stefan grabbed onto her foot and pulled her across the bed towards him. "Say that again" he told her, wrapping his arms around her.

Elena smiled as she looked up at him. "I can't wait to be your wife" she repeated.

"I can't wait for you to be either" he said softly, brushing a piece of hair out of her face as he leaned down and kissed her.

**A/N: Stop it Stefan. Stop it. Stop. It. **

**Every guy I date must read my fanfiction and take note.**


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N: CAUTION: Sexy time ensues. Probably still not M, but a little more than T? **

**I torture myself just as much as I torture you with perfect Stefan. Just know that ;D **

**Thanks for being so patient while I was away! Leave a review and let me know what you think!**

Elena quickly opened her eyes when she heard her phone buzzing. She grabbed for it and shut the alarm off. She wanted to make sure she would wake up at midnight, but didn't want him to wake up right away. She wanted him to wake up on his own.

From what she as doing to him.

She yawned and she looked behind her. He was still sound asleep. She guessed she probably had gotten a solid two hours of sleep total. After Stefan convinced her to have a tiny slow make out session with him. Under the covers.

Elena had been pretty sure that there had been more touching than kissing, but it wasn't like she was complaining. They probably would have still been up for her midnight alarm had Stefan not fallen asleep.

She turned around slowly so she could face him. He always looked so peaceful when he slept. She smiled, placing her hand on his bare chest. He didn't even stir. Slowly, she ran her fingers downward, taking in the sight before her. He was literally as perfect as one could get in terms of how in shape he was. She had to admit, watching him workout in the gym while she would lay on a bench and watch was a dream come true.

Elena reached his boxers, surprised that he was wearing them at all. She leaned her head against his shoulder, slipping her hand inside. She had to stifle her giggle at how secretive she was being, though she knew Stefan would wake up soon enough.

Her hand continued to move up and down slowly, enjoying the feel of him, even if it was just a tad bit on the naughty side. Then again, she was keeping things exciting.

Stefan stirred slightly as she touched him. Even his lips parted slightly as he breathed. Like he was enjoying the way she was pleasuring him while he was still sleeping.

It wasn't until he smiled that Elena knew he was truly awake. "That's nice" he whispered, sighing as she continued. It was by far one of the best ways he had ever been woken up. And he hoped she would do it again too.

"Yeah?" she whispered, smiling as she placed her lips against the underside of his jaw. She placed light kisses there, listening to him moan quietly.

He reached his hand down, placing it over hers. "Yes" he barely got out, closing his eyes tight as he moved his hand up and down with hers.

Elena bit her bottom lip, enjoying the feel of his hand on hers as she touched him.

His hand stilled hers eventually though. He was much more interested in the actual sex. Not hot and heavy sex, because he was way too tired for that. It was midnight after all. "Turn around" he whispered. She smiled and slowly, turned over. She could feel him wiggle out of his boxers and kick them off. Then his hands were on her stomach, sliding their way down to get her underwear off. He moved behind her, spooning her so he could be as close as possible.

She closed her eyes, feeling his hand on the outside of her thigh. She was smiling from ear to ear though. Because whatever Stefan had in mind was sure to be amazing. He lifted her right leg slightly, entering slowly. Just a little, and then more. He literally had to bury his mouth into her shoulder to keep from making too much noise. The feeling was incredible. It always was with her. Instead, a long groan managed to escape. One he was sure the people in the room next to theirs couldn't hear. Elena grabbed onto his hands, wanting something to hold on to. "That good, huh?" she asked in between breaths she was taking. She had to admit. She was a fan of that position too.

Stefan pulled her tightly against him, wanting her to be closer than was actually possible. "Perfect" he got out. "You're perfect" he told her, kissing against her ear. "I love you" he said, squeezing their hands together as he moved against her.

Elena sighed contently. "I love you, Stefan" she said quietly. She let go of one of his hands, reaching out in front of her and balling some of the bed sheet in her hand. She bit down on the bottom of her lip, still managing to get a few words and whimpers out to let him know she was enjoying what they were doing. Or rather, what he was doing to her.

He kissed along her neck, intending for her to feel as loved as absolutely possible. "God I love you" he growled against her ear. "I love you so God damn much" he groaned, picking up his pace.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was almost noon when they both had woken up. Elena was on her back, while Stefan rested his head on her stomach, staring up at the ceiling. She ran her fingers through his messy hair, staring at the wall ahead of her. "What do you want to do today?" he asked. They would have to leave around six to head back to Seattle. But that still left them with plenty of time to have fun.

Elena's fingers stilled in his hair. "What's there to do around here?" she asked. She glanced down and saw him grinning. "Beside sex. I'm a little worn out" she told him, failing miserably to hide a smile as she remembered their two times together. That second time though had blown her mind. Her body was still recovering.

"I wore you out, huh?" he asked, still grinning. She blushed, and he rolled over on his stomach. "Good. It means I'm doing my job" he said, winking at her. He leaned his head down, placing wet kisses on her bare stomach.

"Stefan" she warned, inching her body away from him. Maybe she wasn't as worn out as she thought if she was starting to get turned on again. "I want to go outside" she said.

"Sex on the beach was amazing last time" he smiled. "You remember that?" he asked, placing more kisses on her skin.

Elena covered her face with her hands. "Stop it" she warned, peaking one eye open at him.

He laughed, grabbing her hands away from her face. "How about go-karts?" he asked.

Elena looked at him curiously. She hadn't been on a go-kart in forever. "Okay" she said, sitting up. "Let's go ride go-karts." She got out of bed and searched through her bag, looking for clean clothes and trying to ignore the fact that his eyes were glued to her almost naked body. "I'm going to shower really fast" she added. She paused for a moment, watching Stefan out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, okay" he said, casually getting off of the bed.

Elena began walking towards the bathroom finally, then ran when she heard Stefan running behind her. "I'm showering alone!" she yelled just as she got into the bathroom. She knew he was going to try and join her. She tried to shut the door, but Stefan had his hands on it, stopping her.

"Not a chance" he said, smiling as he easily pushed the door open. He grabbed Elena, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a kiss.

She laughed and laughed as his kisses became less coordinated. They tripped over the toilet, but were somehow able to steady themselves. She finally gave in, kissing him passionately as he backed them towards the shower.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan stood behind Elena as they waited in line for the guys to get their go-karts ready. They were the only two, it being the off season and all. But Elena still seemed excited and she couldn't stand still. "You know I'm going to whoop you, right?" he asked.

Elena turned around, her eyes shining with amusement. "You think?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I know" he said, completely sure of himself. "But if you think I'm wrong, let's make it more interesting" he said.

Elena crossed her arms. "Okay" she smiled. "Loser has to run naked down the beach before we leave" she proposed.

Stefan grinned. "Does the winner get to watch?" he asked, feeling way more motivated to win if that was the case.

Elena rolled her eyes before turning around. The guys opened the gate, letting her go first. Stefan followed behind. Elena was directed to her go-kart first. After she had gotten in, Stefan walked by and leaned down. "I can't wait to see you naked" he whispered, kissing the top of her head before climbing into the go-kart behind her.

Elena wasn't bothered by his cockiness. It only pushed her to beat his ass during the race.

When both engines were going, they were signaled to advance to the track and go. Elena floored it. They had two laps to complete and she wanted a head start. She couldn't hear anything with the engines roaring, but she could see Stefan coming up alongside her. She cut him off on the corner, forcing him to move behind her again.

Stefan accelerated, bumping into the back of her. Elena looked back and glared when she saw him laughing. He swung out beside her again and passed her. She had to hit her brakes when he swerved in front of her. "Ass" she muttered, tailing him all the way back to the start line. One more lap.

Elena waited until they passed the first corner before she moved alongside him. He looked over at her and smiled.

So she swerved into the side of him, knocking his kart off balance slightly. He gave her a horrified look that she would do that to him. There was no way he thought she would do it again as they rounded the last corner, but she did.

Her tire caught his briefly and he ended up hitting the side wall of tires and getting stuck. Elena continued on her way, cruising to the finish line. When she stopped, she got out and smiled as she watched the guys help Stefan get unstuck. Stefan finished the course and parked behind her. "Cheater!" he accused as he got out.

Elena shrugged, smiling brightly. "You didn't forget how competitive I can get, did you?" she asked.

Stefan's glare softened. "No" he smiled, walking towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. "I love your competiveness" he said, pressing his lips against hers.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

There was no way Elena was going to let Stefan get out of running down the beach naked, but she wasn't going to complain that he was putting it off by taking her shopping before they left. She loved small touristy shops. As she was looking at a pair of earrings, she felt something go around her neck.

It was Stefan, placing a necklace on her to see how it looked. They both looked in the small mirror facing them and Stefan smiled. "It's beautiful on you" he told her. Sure, it was a ten dollar shell necklace. But if anyone could wear it, it was her.

Elena turned her head slightly and met his lips for a quick kiss. "I like these too" she said, holding up a pair of seahorse earrings.

Stefan grabbed them and kissed her. "Then you can have them too" he smiled, kissing her quickly one last time. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the register.

"Will this be everything?" the young woman asked.

"This too" Stefan said, plucking a keychain off of the stand in front of the counter. Elena looked at him curiously and he just shrugged. "Bonnie has a weird obsession with key chains" he explained. Then he pulled his wallet out and handed the woman enough cash to cover their purchases.

"You two have a wonderful evening" the woman said, handing them a small plastic bag filled with their purchases.

"Thanks, you too" Stefan said, grabbing Elena's hand and leading her out of the store. "Anything else you want?" he asked. It was already starting to get dark, indicating that they had to leave soon.

"Saltwater taffy" she told him. She led him down to the next store. A candy shop with taffy, fudge and all sorts of other candies that Elena craved. It was only in the last month that Stefan realized just how much Elena loved candy.

"All these flavors are overwhelming" Stefan said, looking along that wall at over 100 choices as they entered the small shop.

"They're all good" Elena informed him, grabbing a bag to begin filling. Stefan stuck close by her side, adding a few flavors he thought his brother and Bonnie might like.

When Stefan looked up again, Elena was gone. She was standing in front of the fudge case. He joined her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her ear gently. "Should we serve fudge at the wedding?" he asked with a smile.

She smiled right back. "Yes" she told him.

The fudge case had roughly ten squares left and he knew Elena couldn't make up her mind. "We'll take the rest of the fudge" he said, reaching for his wallet again.

Elena smiled happily as she watched the store clerk box up the rest of the fudge. "I can't promise I will share" she told him, waiting patiently as he paid for it and the taffy. She grabbed the box and opened it as they walked out, picking up a piece of peanut butter chocolate and taking a bite.

Stefan grabbed her and spun her around, kissing her with the fudge still in her mouth. He smiled as he pulled away, licking his lips. "Then I'll just have to sneak a taste" he said, grinning as she practically melted in his arms from his effortless charm. "Come on" he said, draping his arm over her shoulders and pulling her close. "We have to get back home."

Elena stopped immediately. "Hold on" she said. "You lost the bet on the track. You still have to run naked down the beach, remember?" she reminded.

Stefan smiled. "So you mean to tell me that I just bought you all that candy and jewelry and you are still going to make me run naked?" he asked.

Elena grinned. "Oh, don't you worry. I will be suffering just as much as you while I watch" she told him.

Stefan shook his head. "If you want to see me naked Elena, all you have to do is ask. I'd never turn down your request" he said, heading back towards the beach. It was a good walk back down there, but he knew Elena wasn't going to let him leave without him doing his naked run.

"Hey, a deal's a deal" she shrugged, following him. She wasn't the one who lost.

"Yeah yeah" he said, picking up his pace. Elena juggled both bags and the fudge as she tried to stay with him. "I hope you know how cold it is out here" he told her, pretending to pout.

Elena scoffed. "Had I lost, you would still be making me run naked" she told him.

"Would not" he argued playfully. "I would give you an alternative" he said.

Elena raised her eyebrow. "Oh I would love to hear this" she laughed.

"I would say, Elena, would you rather have dinner with me tomorrow night instead of run naked down the beach" he answered her.

Elena laughed hard. "Bullshit" she told him. "You would substitute naked for naked. Therefore, you'd tell me I could get naked at home or something like that" she said, still laughing at him.

Stefan smiled. "You know me pretty well" he told her, finally reaching the beach. "Hold my clothes" he said, kicking his shoes off and starting to take his jeans off. Then his jacket and his shirt. Elena stood there and enjoyed the show.

When he was completely naked, he flashed her a sexy grin. "How far do I have to run?" he asked, watching her eyes scan his body. He was freezing cold, but he didn't let her know that.

"To the sign and back" she said, pointing at the sign a few hundred yards down the beach.

"Sure thing" he smiled, taking off at a leisurely jog, backwards so she got a good look at him. Elena laughed as she watched him. He blew kisses to her. "I'm running naked down the beach for Elena Gilbert!" he yelled, trying to call attention to himself. Elena hid her face in her sweatshirt, afraid someone would hear him. She didn't see anyone around though. "I'm running naked for my soon to be wife! I love you Elena Gilbert!" he continued to yell.

"Stefan!" she yelled after him, trying to get him to stop.

"I love you Elena!" he yelled one last time as he touched the sign and ran back towards her.

Elena handed him his clothes as his teeth chattered. "You're freezing" she said, feeling slightly guilty for making him run naked.

Stefan slipped his boxers, jeans and shirt back on. "Care to warm me up?" he asked, grabbing her and pulling her close.

"No" Elena laughed. "But I do admire you holding up your end of the bet" she said, walking with him back towards where they had left the car.

"You'd never let me hear the end of it if I didn't" he smirked.

Elena bumped into him. "Damn right I wouldn't" she smiled, linking her arm onto his. "Thank you for bringing me here this weekend" she said quietly, enjoying the last of the ocean air.

"You're welcome" he smiled, kissing the side of her head. "I love spending time with you" he said. And he was sincere about it.

"Well I should hope so" she said. "You have to spend the next 60 to 70 years with me" she teased.

Stefan just smiled. "I could think of worse ways to spend the rest of my life" he told her.

She looked up at him adoringly, because not matter how many times he said things like that to her, it still made her heart flutter.

**A/N: Thoughts? Do you need someone to pick you up off of the ground because you melted from Stefan and his adorable self? **


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N: WARNING: Stefan gets a little naughty.**

**Thank you all for your love and support! I truly mean it when I say I adore you all. I've never had the pleasure of knowing so many dedicated readers. **

**If I could, I would give every one of you your own Stefan :)**

Elena had convinced Stefan that she should wait another week before leaving for Virginia to see her family. This also ensured that Damon would be back from his honeymoon and could keep an eye on Stefan and the company. It also gave Elena some extra time to get caught up and set up everything she wanted Stefan to do while she was gone.

Elena waited for Damon to comment on the fact that Elena was already asking for time off again so soon, but he never said anything. She still wanted to make sure he was okay with it though. She tapped on Damon's office door. He waved her in, though he was on a phone call. "Can I give you a call back?" he asked. There was a slight pause before he spoke again. "Great. Thank you so much Mr. Banes." Damon hung up the phone and smiled at Elena. "Hey" he said.

"Hi" Elena smiled. "How was your trip?" she asked, taking a seat and wanting to ease her way into the conversation.

Damon smiled. "It was amazing. You and Stefan should visit there. Beautiful water. Good food and pleasant people" he told her.

"Yeah, I'd love to visit" she told him. "And I'm glad you two had such a good time." Stefan had showed Elena the pictures Bonnie had emailed him.

"Bonnie will tell you more about it I'm sure" he told her. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?" he asked. It wasn't that he didn't want to chat with his soon to be sister-in-law, but he had a lot of work to get caught up on.

Elena nodded. "My time off next week" she stated. "I don't want you thinking that I randomly take time off like this all the time …" she said, looking down at her hands and feeling guilty about it.

"Stefan told me he suggested you take the week off" Damon said. "I couldn't imagine living that far away from my family, so I get it, Elena" he told her. She looked up at him, surprised he was taking this so well. "Enjoy your time with your family" he said, standing. Then he smiled. "I know you're good for making up the time. Besides, it won't hurt Stefan to pull his own weight while you're gone" he laughed. He was well aware that Elena did most of the work.

Elena smiled. "Thank you Damon" she said. "I'll make sure Stefan knows what needs to be done next week."

"I know you will" he said, standing. Whether Stefan actually did anything was another story. She stood as well. He walked around his desk and put his arm around her. "Congratulations, by the way" he said, glancing down at her hand. "I guess this really is a family business now" he added with a smile.

Elena couldn't help the huge smile that appeared. While she didn't necessarily think of herself as someone with strong ties to the company, she had to admit, it was nice to feel like she was part of a new family.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You should have seen him trying to pick this out" Bonnie said, holding up Elena's left hand. "He was so particular and I honestly think every jeweler we went to wanted to murder him" she added.

Elena admired her ring, something she caught herself doing a lot. "It really is beautiful" she smiled.

Bonnie smiled too. "Look at you looking all happy and in love" she teased. It only made Elena smile more. "Those Salvatore boys are truly something, aren't they?" Bonnie asked, resting her hand casually over her stomach. She had just started to show and they were pretty excited about it. "Ugh. I have to pee again" Bonnie announced. She gave Elena an apologetic smile as she got up from the table and went in search of the bathroom.

Elena sat back and finished her glass of tea, checking her phone. She had about twenty minutes until her lunch break was over. Stefan had sent her six texts since she had left the office. All but one involved making fun of his brother. Stefan was supposed to be paying attention to the meeting he was in. Clearly that wasn't happening. The other text was asking what time she had to be at the airport the following morning. Most people probably would have thought that was considerate of him to ask, because it meant he probably wanted to take her to the airport himself.

But Elena knew that he was only asking so he would know what time he had to wake up for a little pre-airport sex. Elena grinned as she sent a reply. It was early. A 6:00 AM flight. She waited for him to reply, but he didn't. So she put her phone away and waited for Bonnie.

"This baby is going to be twenty pounds. I just know it" Bonnie said, sitting back down and sighing. It had taken so much effort to get up and use the bathroom and she was nowhere near the end of her pregnancy.

Elena laughed at her. "I should hope not" Elena replied.

Bonnie grinned. "Maybe not twenty. But Damon was a big baby" she sighed. "Don't you just love how men get to use their penis and have a good ol' time and then we have to scream our heads off for hours, pushing their kid out?" Bonnie asked, taking a sip of her water.

Elena nearly choked on her tea as she looked around to see if anyone heard Bonnie not so shyly express her pregnant hormonal feelings about sex and reproduction. "They do have it easier" Elena agreed. "That bad lately, huh?" Elena asked.

Bonnie sighed. "I'm just tired and moody and I have to pee every twenty minutes" she explained. "And I throw up every morning" she added. "I just wish this baby would be here already."

Elena smiled. "A little over four months to go" Elena said.

Bonnie smiled. "That's not so long I guess" she told Elena. Elena shook her head, agreeing with her. "So what about you and Stefan?" Bonnie asked. "When are you two going to make one of these?" she asked, patting her stomach.

Elena laughed at her. "I don't think any time soon" she told Bonnie. Elena was really happy with the way things were at the moment. Bonnie stared at Elena, like she was deep in thought. "What?" Elena asked curiously.

Bonnie smiled. "You two are going to make such great parents" she said adoringly. "You two are such a perfect team." Then she grabbed Elena's hand to hold. "I have never seen Stefan this happy before. He's absolutely crazy about you" she added.

Elena couldn't help but smile as she felt tears well up. "Thank you, Bonnie" she said, leaning over and hugging her. "I was just going to say the same about you and Damon. This baby is going to be so loved" she told her.

Bonnie burst into tears, because she could no longer control them anymore. "These damn baby hormones" she said, continuing to cry.

Elena rubbed her back soothingly. "Don't worry about it" Elena laughed. Elena had watched how good Damon was with Bonnie through those early stages of pregnancy. Elena found herself hoping that Stefan would be just as good to her. "Do you want anything else?" Elena asked, pulling away from Bonnie reluctantly. "I have to get back to the office."

Bonnie shook her head no as she wiped at her tears. "I'm going to pick up a chicken burger for later. Lord knows I will be hungry again in a few hours" she said, smiling.

"I'll see you when I get back from Virginia?" Elena asked. Bonnie nodded. "Okay" Elena said, gathering her coat. "Bye baby" she said, leaning down and kissing Bonnie's baby belly. The three of them had started doing that. "I am so excited to meet you" Elena smiled.

"Me too" Bonnie told her.

Elena smiled at Bonnie. "You're going to make such an amazing mother" she told her, meaning every word of it. "Thanks for lunch" she added, leaning in and hugging Bonnie one last time.

They both stood and left the restaurant, stepping out into the chilly air. Elena tucked the chocolate covered croissant into her purse, having ordered it to bring back to Stefan. Both girls waved one last time before getting into their cars and leaving.

By the time Elena arrived back, Stefan was out of his meeting. He smiled when he saw her. "I took notes" he said, handing her a few sheets of paper.

"I brought you one of those chocolate covered croissants you love" she said, handing him the brown paper sack in a trade.

"And this is why I love you" he said, grabbing for the bag with one hand and wrapping his other arm around, pulling her in for a kiss. "Thank you" he whispered against her lips.

"You're welcome" she whispered back. She pulled away from him, eager to get back to her desk. Stefan sat in his chair and opened up the bag, eager to eat his croissant. "Thanks for these" she added, holding up the papers he had given her.

"You're welcome" he smiled. "So, how was lunch?" he asked.

"Good" Elena said. "I think I'm going to spend a whole day with her when I get back. Take her to do some girly stuff like the spa and shopping" she told him. It sounded like Bonnie needed it.

Stefan set the rest of his pastry down. "She'll love it" Stefan smiled. Then he frowned. "I keep forgetting that you're leaving tomorrow" he said.

"I'll only be gone for five days" she reminded him. She had been given clearance from her community service to have a Saturday morning off. She was actually kind of surprised that they had let her.

"Only" Stefan said, rolling his eyes. She had been gone for an hour for lunch that day and he had about lost his mind.

Elena frowned. "You were the one who suggested I go" Elena reminded.

Stefan sighed. He hadn't meant to be such an ass about it. "I want you to go and see your family" Stefan told her. "I just want you to be here too" he added. It was the needy part of him that hated to be away from her for too long. He had always enjoyed his space when he was in a relationship, but with Elena, he always wanted her close by.

Elena smiled sadly at him as she got up from her chair and walked over to him. She sat down on his lap and placed her hand against the side of his face. "I'm going to miss you too" she said, leaning in and kissing him.

Stefan smiled, leaning into her kiss. He loved when she kissed him first. His hands grabbed onto the blouse she was wearing. It was one of his favorites because it gave him easy access. "Let's take the rest of the day off" he said against her lips. "Because right now, I want nothing more than to take these clothes off of you and have the most rough, passionate sex you've ever had" he whispered hoarsely against her ear. He ran his hand along the inside of her leg, working his way upwards. She happened to be wearing his favorite skirt too.

Elena squirmed slightly as she tried to close her legs. "Stefan" she warned, struggling to keep any resolve when his hand was up her skirt and his lips were once again on hers. She looked over his shoulder and saw that the office door was closed. Still. Anyone could walk in on them.

He smiled, running his nose along her cheek until he found her ear again. "Tell me to stop" he whispered. His fingers found her underwear and pulled it to the side.

Elena's self-control was shot, even if she knew she should tell him to stop. It wasn't appropriate to be doing it in the office. She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Her breathing was slightly ragged as she anticipated what was going to happen. His warm breath on her face wasn't helping. "You want me to stop?" he asked quietly, his fingers touching her now. Her body tensed as she leaned into him, focusing so hard on staying quiet.

Elena shook her head frantically. "No" she whispered. Not now. Not when his fingers were expertly touching her down there like that.

Stefan smiled, leaning his head against hers. She was so close to him that he could feel her heart beat against his chest. He took pride in knowing that he could make her fall apart like that, anytime, anywhere. "You're so beautiful, when you're turned on like this" he whispered.

Elena reached her hand up and grabbed the other side of his neck, needing something to hold on to. "Oh, Stefan" she moaned softly, unable to help herself. Her nails scratched along his neck lightly. She felt one finger enter her and she about lost it. "Ugh" she groaned into his skin, clenching her legs around his hand. Her breathing picked up and she could feel it. That sweet buildup that he could give her in such short amount of time.

"Good?" he asked, stifling a laugh.

"So good" she whispered, moving her hips against him.

"Kiss me" he said, looking down at her. It took all the effort she had to lift her head and look up at him. She wasn't sure how she could kiss him when she could hardly breathe, but she kissed him anyway.

When she did find her release a few minutes later, their kisses slowed as he slowly let her come down off of her high. Her eyes were closed as she rested her head against him. "Damnit Stefan" she said with a smile.

He smiled too. "You're welcome" he told her. "We'll continue this when we get home" he added, kissing the top of her head as he helped her up.

Elena grabbed onto the arm of his chair and the edge of his desk to hold herself up. Stefan tugged on her skirt, making sure she looked semi presentable again. "I need to go to the bathroom" she told him, taking a slow, shaky step towards the door.

"Do you need help?" he asked, failing to hide his amusement.

"I'll be fine" she told him, taking another slow step. "As soon as the room stops spinning" she added.

Stefan spun back around in his chair to look at his computer. "Your hair is going to give us away" he told her. Elena stopped immediately and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to hide the fact that her hair had become messy because Stefan was getting her off in his chair. "I love you" he smiled when he heard her open the door.

She turned around and smiled. "Believe me" she told him. "You did a pretty amazing job of showing me just how much you love me" she told him. He spun back around in his chair and saw her smiling like an idiot. A satisfied, idiot in love. "I love you too" she told him.

Then she was out the door and Stefan was the one grinning like an idiot.

He loved her so much. Sometimes, he wanted to pinch himself to make sure this was all real.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan continued to give Elena looks the rest of the afternoon that only served to make her blush. By the time it was time to head home for the day, Elena couldn't help but feel a little sad that she wouldn't see him for a week.

When they got home, both changed into more comfortable clothes. Stefan had Thai food delivered while Elena grabbed them two glasses of wine. "I think I'm just going to take a cab to the airport tomorrow morning" she told him, sitting down next to him on the couch. Stefan opened up all of the boxes, not bothering to grab plates. Surely they had swapped enough germs in the short amount of time they had been together.

"I'll take you" he told her, stabbing his fork into a piece of chicken. Even though it had been a few months, he still worried about her going off by herself. At least he could make sure she arrived at the airport safely.

"It's early" she told him, figuring he would probably want to stay sleeping since he would have to go to work.

"I want to take you to the airport" he said, pointing a fork with a piece of chicken at her.

Elena bit the piece of chicken off of the fork and smiled. "I'd love that" she said, grabbing for a napkin.

"You should bring your laptop so we can Skype" he said, moving on to the noodles.

Elena nodded. "Sure" she told him. "I was going to bring it for work anyways since Jenna and Jeremy will be out of the house during the day anyway" she explained. She grabbed for her glass of wine and took a sip.

"I'm going to set the alarm a little early so we can have sex before you leave" he stated. It was such a factual statement and his face was so serious that Elena couldn't help but choke on the sip of wine she had just taken.

"How early?" she asked curiously, as soon as she got the wine down.

"I'm going to need at least an hour, maybe two" he told her, grinning. "I have to get five days worth" he reminded.

"You are insane" Elena told him. "If you think I'm going to get up at 2:00 AM to have sex with you, you're in for disappointment" she said.

"Oh I'll get you up one way or another" he promised her.

"How about a compromise?" she suggested. "We have sex tonight instead." That way she could sleep in until she absolutely had to be up.

"Or, we could have sex tonight AND tomorrow morning" he said.

"No" she told him. "And don't you dare pout" she warned, seeing his bottom lip start to stick out playfully.

"Fine" he said, sitting back in the couch and sighing. "Tomorrow morning then" he concluded.

"You are entirely too horny for your own good" she told him.

"You're one to talk" he scoffed. "Need I remind you about what happened in our office earlier?" he asked, eyeing her.

Elena blushed. "You took advantage of me" she accused. She couldn't be held accountable for the way he made her feel. "You know what I can't resist" she insisted.

Stefan smiled. "Yeah I do" he said proudly. He reached down and grabbed her hand to hold. "God I'm going to miss you" he told her.

"The sex?" she clarified. Because they had been doing a lot of that lately.

Stefan shook his head no though. "You" he told her. "I'm going to miss you" he said, leaning in and kissing her forehead.

"I'll miss you too" she told him, kissing the corner of his mouth playfully.

Stefan looked down at her, watching her smile up at him. "You are quite possibly the most adorable person I have ever met" he said.

"You're pretty adorable yourself" she said, squeezing his hand with hers.

"My mom thinks so too" he said knowingly. She rolled her eyes and laughed at him. "Well she does" he smiled.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and continued to smile. She really did adore him.

**A/N: Is Stefan the cutest thing you've ever seen or what? And aren't he and Elena adorable? Bonnie cracks me up.**


	51. Chapter 51

**A/N: Fluff and just Stefan being Stefan. I will bring more of a storyline into this story again. I just needed a few chapters of happy to cure my broken TV TVD heart.**

**Please let me know what you think! And yes, I do read and love the reviews on here!**

Stefan grinned the moment his alarm went off. And why was he grinning at two in the morning? He had his reasons.

He rolled over, slipping his arm around Elena and hugging her close, kissing the back of her neck.

Elena moaned softly, though it soon turned into a groan. "It's two in the morning Stefan" she told him. "No."

His hand slipped under her shirt, not so innocently massaging her. "I know" he whispered. "But you're going to be gone for a week" he reminded, continuing to kiss her skin.

"I'm so tired" she whined.

"I want you so bad right now" he whispered against her ear. He always wanted her, but knowing he couldn't be with her while she was gone drove him crazy. Normally, a statement like that would have been enough to get her to agree to anything.

Elena sighed as she turned over on her back. "Have at it" she told him. "I'm going back to sleep" she yawned, turning her head to the side and closing her eyes.

Stefan frowned. "Elena" he complained. He rubbed her stomach, trying to get her to wake back up.

Elena peeked one eye open at him. "You're not going to give up, are you?" she asked. He grinned as he shook his head no. She closed her eyes and sighed. "You better never, EVER say I don't love you" she told him. If she was going to give up precious sleep so he could get sex from her, he needed to know he was deeply loved.

Stefan had jumped on top of her, diving in and kissing her. "I'd never say that" he promised, grabbing the waistband of her pants. His head was already under her oversized t-shirt, placing quick and uncoordinated kisses on her stomach.

"That tickles" Elena laughed, squirming under him.

He slipped his head out of her shirt and smiled. "My bad" he said, feigning how sorry he was. He lifted her legs straight up, pulling her pants off and tossing them across the room. He placed both of her legs over his shoulders and stared down at her longingly. "I'm going to miss you like crazy" he said, running his hands over her legs.

"Yeah?" she asked, staring up at him.

Stefan smiled as he leaned down and kissed her slowly. "It's going to be torture" he whispered, grabbing her hand in his. "But it's going to be one of the greatest days ever when I get to pick you up from the airport and bring you back home" he added, kissing her ring.

She placed her hand on his cheek, studying his face. "I wish every woman could be as lucky as I am" she said softly. The way he looked at her, adored her and got excited about her. It was just plain incredible.

"I know. Sucks to be them, huh?" he asked, grinning.

Elena rolled her eyes at him. "You'd better get this started, or I might just fall back asleep" she warned him.

Stefan's tongue was already tracing the shell of her ear in response. "Believe me, Elena. After what I'm about to do to you, it will be impossible for you to fall back asleep" he whispered, tugging on her ear playfully with his teeth. "You'll be begging me to keep going" he added. "That sound okay to you?" he asked.

She let out a small gasp in anticipation and wrapped her arms around him. "Yes" she breathed heavily.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I gotta take a break Elena" Stefan said, falling on his back onto the bed and closing his eyes, breathing heavily. They had been at it for over an hour and he was about ready to pass out.

Elena climbed on top of Stefan, straddling his naked body. "Are you tired already?" she asked, laughing at him. Wasn't he the one who had been so excited to have sex all morning before she went to the airport?

"Already?" he asked in disbelief. "We haven't stopped once since we started" he reminded her. "We need a break" he said, looking down at himself.

Elena smiled as her eyes followed his. Then she rolled off of him. "I can't believe I tired Stefan Salvatore out" Elena said smugly. "Who would have thought?" she asked.

Stefan couldn't help but smile. "Come here" he told her, wrapping an arm around her as she rested her head on his chest.

Elena snuggled up close to him and closed her eyes. "I should jump in the shower soon" she told him. Though, she had no desire to get up. She was way too comfortable.

"Let's stay here for a few more minutes" he said quietly, running his fingers through her hair.

"Just a few" she whispered, hugging him close.

It was almost ten minutes later when they both jumped into the shower. He did more kissing than washing, but Elena wasn't going to complain. "I love you" he said, holding her face in his hands, staring down into her brown eyes. Her beautiful brown eyes.

"I love you too" Elena smiled, accepting his one hundredth kiss that morning. She felt herself being pushed against the glass door of the shower as his lips attacked hers. A squeal escaped her somehow as he lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Someone's excited" he said, smiling against her lips.

"You said you were tired" Elena reminded, trying to position her hips just right, but he was denying her what she wanted. "Stop teasing" she warned, feeling his lips on her neck.

"Aren't you tired yet?" he challenged, massaging her thighs as the water ran over them.

"Do I sound tired?" she asked, squeezing her legs tighter around him. Stefan laughed at her, frustrating her even more. "Stefan Salvatore" she warned.

"Yes Dear?" he asked, being a smartass as his tongue continued to lick water droplets off of her skin. She groaned, clearly done with his teasing. "Fine, fine" he said, giving in. He was only torturing himself anyway. He rested his head against hers, grabbing her hips as he sunk into her slowly. She exhaled slowly, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Better?" he asked, moving his hips slowly.

Elena bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Yes" she smiled, giving him a tender kiss to thank him.

So much better.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena was pretty sure she wasn't going to be able to walk for a week straight after countless rounds of sex with Stefan in such a short amount of time. She wouldn't have taken any of it back though.

He held her hand as he drove, bringing it to his lips from time to time to kiss. "You can drop me off at the curb" she told him as they approached SeaTac. It was fairly busy for that early in the morning.

"I'll park and go in with you" he told her. She was going to point out that he'd be late to work if he did that, but then she remembered that he was Stefan and showing up on time was the least of his worries.

And that was just what he did. He parked and carried her bag for her as they walked hand-in-hand into the airport. He waited patiently as she got checked in and received her ticket. "They said I should get going through security now. There's a bit of a wait" she told him.

Stefan nodded as he pulled her into a hug. "God I'm going to miss you" he told her.

Elena hugged him back. "I'm going to miss you too" she told him. She let go of him and kissed him long and passionately. "I'll see you in five days" she said with a smile.

"And not a second longer" he added, smiling as well. "Have a good time. I love you" he said, kissing her one last time.

"Love you too" she said, grabbing her bag and reluctantly leaving him.

Stefan remained where he was until she disappeared around the corner. Then he sighed as he turned around and walked back out the door. Somehow, he had survived 25 years without her. He could definitely make it 5 days.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena was greeted by a very excited Jenna as soon as she landed. "I can't believe you're really here" Jenna squealed, hugging Elena tightly. "I am so excited. I have the whole week off and we are going to have so much fun" she assured her, grabbing her bag for her and leading her towards the parking lot.

"Can we grab some lunch?" Elena asked. She was pretty hungry from her flight. And the fact that she didn't get breakfast because she and Stefan had been … preoccupied.

"Of course" Jenna said, proceeding to talk about Jeremy and Alaric and everything that had been going on.

When they finally did sit down at a small café, Jenna was all smiles. "You look incredibly happy" she told Elena. "So what's new with you?" she asked, taking a sip of her water as they waited for the waiter to come and take their order.

Elena knew it was now or never. She had waited too long already to tell her only aunt the amazing news. Elena brought her hand up from under the table and flashed the ring on her finger. The absolutely beautiful, absurdly expensive one.

Jenna nearly choked on the water she had been drinking. She grabbed Elena's hand to admire the ring and then took a good long hard look at Elena. "Well no wonder you look so happy" Jenna said with a huge grin. "When did this happen?" she asked.

"A few weeks ago. I wanted to tell you in person" Elena explained, hoping that Jenna would understand. She seemed to.

"Well aren't you one lucky duck" Jenna told her. "Look at this thing" she said. "I'm surprised you can hold your hand up with its weight" she added.

Elena laughed. "I know he spent way too much on it" Elena admitted. "But it really is beautiful" she said.

Jenna agreed. "How'd he do it?" she asked, letting go of Elena's hand and sitting back, preparing herself for the story.

And Elena was more than willing to tell it. "Well, he had Bonnie pretend to take me out to brunch. And when we got there, it was closed, but she told me to go in anyway. And when I did, the whole place was decorated. And then he walked out, got down on one knee and you know, asked me" she said, grinning like a fool. "The restaurant he proposed in was the one we first met in" she added.

Jenna was in absolute tears by then. "He's so romantic" she said. "Elena, I'm so happy for you" she told her.

"Really?" Elena asked. "I thought you might be worried that this was happening so fast" Elena said, playing with her ring as she looked down at it.

Jenna moved over to the chair next to Elena and grabbed her hand again. "Elena, if he makes you happy, then I want this for you" she said sincerely. "You've waited a long time for this. And no one is going to stand in the way of your happiness. Least of all me" she said, smiling.

Elena nodded, pulling her aunt into a hug. "So you'll help me plan it then?" she asked.

"We'll buy the whole grocery store out of their bridal magazines on our way home" Jenna promised. Then Jenna pulled away from her with a serious look on her face. "What do you already have figured out?" she asked.

Elena smiled. This was the exciting part that she had been waiting for. Actually diving in deep with someone to talk about all the details. "Well, it will be at a castle in Washington" Elena told her. "Stefan asked if we could keep it local, so his mom could attend" Elena explained.

Jenna remembered Stefan talking about his mom. "Of course. We can all travel. No worries" Jenna said, urging Elena to continue.

"We were thinking, an outdoor wedding at sunset" she said, smiling when she remembered Stefan suggesting it. "And the reception after that, inside."

"A castle?" Jenna asked. "Are you kidding me? My niece is getting married in a castle?" she said, practically jumping up and down with excitement. "Please tell me there will be horses?" she asked.

Elena nodded. "We thought a carriage" Elena replied, so unbelievably happy that Jenna was on board with all of this. "And that's all we have planned. So I'm going to need help with the flowers, dresses, menu, invitations and music …" she listed off. "But I do want to save some things for Bonnie to help out with" Elena added. "A few things, but not too much. I don't want to tire her out."

Jenna smiled. "Speaking of babies … when are you and Stefan going to make one?" Jenna asked with a silly grin.

Elena laughed. "Not for a while" she told her. Babies were not on her radar. And probably wouldn't be for a while.

"Well, I suppose an impending wedding will keep me busy for a little while" Jenna smiled. She got up and went back to her seat. "I'm really excited for you" Jenna said.

"Thanks" Elena told her, smiling as well.

Now, the fact that she was getting married felt more real.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena was putting her clothes away when she heard her computer ding, indicating that someone was online trying to contact her. She had to smile because it couldn't have been anyone else but her crazy fiancé. He would have just gotten home from work. She accepted his Skype request and smiled when she saw his face. "Hi Stefan" Elena said.

"Hey you" he said, winking at her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Just putting clothes away" she said. "What are you up to tonight?" she asked.

Stefan held up a new DVD he had rented. "Movie night" he replied. "So, did you tell Jenna that we're getting married yet?" he asked.

Elena sat down on her bed and nodded. "Yep. She's very happy for us" Elena told him. "She got me these" Elena said, holding up a huge stack of wedding and bridal magazines.

Stefan grinned. "Sounds like you two will be busy" he said.

"Yep" Elena said, setting the magazines aside. And she couldn't wait.

"You know what might be fun?" Stefan asked, changing the subject on her.

"What?" Elena asked.

"If we Skyped naked" he told her. Elena rolled her eyes at him. "There's no need for that" he told her. He was very serious about it.

"I'm not getting naked on Skype for you" Elena informed him.

"Oh come on" he said, trying to encourage her. "I'll get naked first" he enticed, taking a shoe off.

Elena laughed at him. "No" she said, shooting him down. He gave her a pouty face. "My aunt or brother could walk in at any moment" she reminded him. "Besides, you know, the government monitors what we do online. Do you want them see me naked?" she asked.

Stefan sighed. "No" he said. No one got to see her naked but him and he was very protective of that. But then he smiled. "Do you still have that cheerleading outfit you wore back in high school?" he asked her. He had ideas for that thing.

Elena smiled. She disappeared for a moment and came back holding it up. "You mean this old thing?" Elena asked.

Stefan's eyes got wide. "What would it take for me to get you to put it on right now?" he asked.

Elena grinned. "Is me wearing an old cheerleading outfit a turn on for you?" she asked, waving it around.

"You have no idea" Stefan replied. He would do anything for her to wear it.

Elena smiled, admiring her outfit. She had very fond memories of wearing it. "Tell you what. I will pack it with me to bring home and wear it for you then" she told him. "I'm pretty tired tonight. I need to get some sleep."

She did look exhausted and he figured he had better stop harassing her on Skype. "Call me tomorrow when you get up?" he asked.

Elena smiled. "You'll still be asleep. I don't want to wake you" she said. She would probably be up around six.

"I don't mind" Stefan told her.

Elena smiled again. "Okay. I'll call you when I get up" she said. "I love you."

"I love you too, Elena. Sleep well" he told her. He signed off.

Elena signed off as well and then fell back onto her bed, looking up at her ceiling. Her eyes closed and she could have fallen asleep right then, had there not been a knock at her door. "Come in" she said, sitting up.

Jeremy let himself into her room with the biggest grin on his face. "Hey Sis, or should I say, Mrs. Salvatore" he said, testing the name.

Elena smiled, getting up from her bed to give her little brother a long awaited hug. "Hey" she smiled, letting his arms envelop her into a hug.

"Congrats, Sis" he told her. "But I already knew" he added. Elena pulled away from him and gave him a quizzical look. "Stefan called me and asked if it would be okay for him to ask you to marry him" he said. "I was impressed" he added.

"He really did that?" Elena asked. Jeremy nodded. Okay, so Stefan really was perfect.

"Made me swear not tell anyone" he added. "He wanted it to be a surprise."

"It was" Elena told him. It had been a complete and amazing surprise.

"You're happy" Jeremy said, taking a good long look at her.

"I'm so happy" Elena said.

"I'm glad to hear it" Jeremy told her. "I've been working out lately, just in case I have to kick his ass" he added.

Elena laughed. "I don't think you'll have to be doing that. He's good to me" she told him.

Jeremy kissed the top of her head and brought her in for one more hug. "He better be" he warned. Truth was though, Jeremy really liked Stefan. "Come on. Jenna made brownies" he told her.

"Now this I have missed" Elena smiled, walking out of her room with him. Jenna used to always make them brownies when they had stayed the night at her house.

"I'll race you" Jeremy said, taking off down the stairs. Just like when they were kids.

"Cheater!" Elena yelled after him, though she was laughing as she came down the stairs behind him.

Jeremy reached for a brownie still in the pan when Jenna whapped him with the spatula. "Ow" he complained.

"They're still cooling" she warned.

"They don't need to cool" Jeremy insisted, attempting to grab for a brownie again. And again, Jenna whapped him. "This is abuse, and I have a witness" Jeremy said, looking to Elena.

"I didn't see anything" Elena shrugged. Jenna smiled and Jeremy glared at her, but he soon was smiling too. "I missed you two" Elena said, taking a seat at the counter. She watched as Jeremy again tried to sneak a brownie and wondered if he would ever learn.

Probably not.


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N: Have I told you all how much I appreciate you lately? Because I do. You all have your own special place in my heart and I hope you know that :) **

**Thank you for reading. I apologize if this update makes you cry and/or say "Awww" more than once.**

"Are you sure you don't want to go to a big city to find a dress?" Jenna asked, following Elena down the sidewalk in town. Surely Richmond or Charlottesville would have more of a dress selection than Mystic Falls.

Elena smiled as she sent a text message back to Stefan, who was being nosey and wanting to know what she was doing. Clearly he was not getting any work done like he was supposed to be doing. "I'm looking for something elegant, yet simple" Elena informed her. She was confident that she could find the perfect wedding dress for her wedding without having to go to expensive shops in the city or ordering online so a dress could be flown in from Paris. "Let's try here" Elena said, walking into a small boutique that she had bought her prom dress from years earlier.

"Good morning ladies. How can I help you?" an older woman greeted with a friendly smile. It was the same woman who owned the shop all those years ago too.

"I'm looking for a wedding dress" Elena explained.

The woman's face lit up. "Follow me" she told her, leading her towards the back. "Now, I have four in the store, and all can be altered here in the store" she explained. The store phone rang out and she politely excused herself. "Just holler when you need me" she added with her Southern charm before walking away.

"Thank you" Jenna told her. When the woman was back behind the counter, Jenna stood next to Elena and admired the dresses. "See anything you like?" Jenna asked.

Elena smiled. "This one" she said, grabbing one down. It was a ball gown style dress that she thought looked pretty. She really did not have her heart set on a particular style of dress. She just figured she would know when she found it.

"Well go try it on" Jenna said, getting way too excited about shopping for a dress. She sat down in a chair while Elena went to put it on. "What are you thinking for your colors?" Jenna asked.

"I haven't really thought much about it" she said through the fitting room door. "I've been pretty busy lately" she admitted. She hadn't really thought about anything related to the wedding, aside from what Stefan had suggested.

Jenna scoffed. "No one is too busy to plan her wedding" she told her.

Elena smiled and came out in the dress. "I wanted a low-key wedding. Stefan wanted it to be a big deal" she said, looking less than thrilled with the dress she had on. Jenna nodded her head in agreement. It wasn't the dress for Elena.

"I bet he wants you to have a perfect dream wedding" Jenna smiled, walking up behind Elena and moving her hair so that it all cascaded down her back.

Elena smiled as well. "He said he was only getting married once, so he wanted to make it special" she explained. He had been incredibly adorable when he had told her that.

Jenna placed her hand over her heart and nearly melted onto the ground. "He's so sweet" Jenna said.

Elena laughed. "He's something all right" she said. Hell, she even missed his neediness even if she did enjoy the peace and quiet without him around. "Hand me that one please" Elena said, pointing at another dress. Jenna walked over and grabbed it for her and Elena went to try that one on.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you so happy before" Jenna said. "Especially for someone who had a shit ton of bad things thrown at her a few months ago" she reminded. Being cheated on and dumped by your boyfriend, getting fired, being involved in a car crash and being charged with participating in embezzlement weren't all things that happened to every girl every day. Jenna had been so worried that Elena would fall apart in the aftermath of it all.

"It's hard not to be happy when I'm with him" Elena admitted, slipping into the next dress. He really didn't let her be unhappy, always doing his best to make her smile. "He's fun and sweet and …" she said, stumbling to find another descriptor that did not refer to his talents in the bedroom. "He loves me" she finally said, coming out with the second dress on. It had way too many ruffles on it.

Jenna noticed that Elena looked somewhat teary-eyed now. "Hon, what is it?" Jenna asked, jumping up be with her once again.

Elena shrugged. "It's nothing" she said, looking at herself in the mirror. "I don't like this one either" she said, turning to go back in.

Jenna grabbed her arm and stopped her though. "Elena, what is it?" Jenna asked.

Elena sat down and sighed. "I don't know … I guess sometimes, I just … I wait for reality to hit" she admitted. "I wait for him to wake up one day and decide he doesn't want to be with me anymore." It was a horrible thing to think about, but she couldn't help it. It was that one insecurity she had in her life at the moment and she just couldn't shake it, no matter how hard she tried.

"Because Gregory decided he didn't want to be with you anymore?" Jenna asked. Elena looked at her, seeing that Jenna knew where Elena's insecurities still were. "He was a sorry excuse for a man, Elena" Jenna said, grabbing Elena's hand. "This – Stefan – is your reality" Jenna told her. "I have a good feeling about you two" she added with a smile.

Elena wiped at a single tear and laughed at herself. "I know. I do know all of this. God, I'm being silly" Elena told her. "I think I just really miss him." It had been three days.

Jenna pulled her into a hug and smiled. "I bet he really misses you too" Jenna told her. "And by the way, I don't like this dress either" she agreed.

"I kind of want to head back" she said. She didn't feel like dress shopping anymore. She just wanted to call Stefan and hear his voice.

Jenna nodded. "You have plenty of time to find you the perfect dress" she assured her. "Stefan will love you in anything though" she smiled.

Elena had to laugh at that. Stefan would love her in anything.

As long as he could take it off of her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Okay, so I have my boy and girl name" Bonnie said, coming into the living room and handing Damon a plate of nachos to hold. The nachos were her after-dinner snack, snack. She had chocolate chip pancakes for dinner and an hour later, had yogurt and strawberries for a snack. Two hours after that, she was making nachos. Bonnie sat down on the couch with him.

"I've got mine too" Damon announced. "You go first" he said, waiting for her to lean back into him so he could hold her.

She happily accepted her plate of nachos, appreciative that he was not nagging her about how unhealthy they were. She had added double everything. Double cheese, beans, meat, sour cream, olives and salsa. "Well, for a boy, I think Benjamin" she said. "And for a girl, Juliette" she added, digging in to the messy food.

"Those are good ones" he told her, stealing one of her nachos off of the plate. She let him, though if he was going to eat a lot off of her plate, he'd have to go and make her more. "Want to hear mine?" he asked. Bonnie nodded. "For a boy, I was thinking Alex. And Claire for a girl" he said.

"Huh" Bonnie said, testing the names in her head. "I like those" she told him.

"So how do we decide?" Damon asked.

"Well, I suppose that Stefan and Elena could cast their votes" she said, smiling. "But I think any of the names we picked out will be perfect" she added.

"So, we can just use mine then, right?" he asked. He had thought long and hard about his choices.

Bonnie looked up at him and saw his beautiful, smartass smile. "No. I still want my names in the running" she informed him.

"Fine" he told her. "But we can't tell them which names we each picked. Because Stefan will choose yours" he said. That bias would definitely be there.

Bonnie laughed. "You don't know that" she said.

"He so would" Damon argued. Stefan always took Bonnie's side on everything. He would definitely pick Bonnie's names over his own brother's. "We have to make this fair."

"Fine" Bonnie sighed. "Should we make a ballot box?" she asked jokingly.

"Might as well" Damon said, placing his hands on her stomach and kissing her cheek. "The naming of a Salvatore child is serious business" he smiled, kissing her again.

Bonnie set her plate down and tilted her head back to look up at him. "He or she is going to be so lucky" she told him sincerely.

"Of course, with a mom like you" he said, earning himself a smile and a kiss for that one.

"I love you" she told him. She loved hearing herself say that to him. It wasn't forced or even necessary, but she enjoyed letting him know how she felt.

"I love you too" he whispered, kissing her once more. "You ready for bed?" he asked.

Bonnie grinned. "I'm always ready to sleep" she reminded him. That's all she did lately. That and eat.

"Come on" he said, standing up with her.

She laughed when he picked her up. "You won't be able to do this once I get bigger" she said.

Damon carried her out of the room and up the stairs. "Yes I will" he told her with a smile. "I'm not as weak as Stefan claims" he added for a hint of humor. Stefan was always picking on him for not being as strong.

"We'll see" Bonnie said, rolling her eyes. With an extra 30 pounds or so in the upcoming months, she wasn't so sure. "Just don't drop me" she warned.

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "I only dropped you last summer because I got a cramp in my shoulder" he defended. "Now that I work out daily, I don't get those cramps."

Bonnie laughed. "Daily?" she asked. She laughed some more. "Oh honey, once a month does not equal daily" she informed him. Damon glared playfully. "You're so cute" she said, cupping his face in her hands. She kissed him, making him forget about her comment.

"I know you said you were tired …" he said, smiling at her as they made it to their room. He laid her on the bed and hovered over her, admiring how beautiful she was. "But are you up for a little Damon and Bonnie lovin' time?" he asked, grinning like he was pretty proud of himself for thinking up that one.

Bonnie smiled. "I am pretty tired" she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. "But I'm always up for some lovin' time" she said.

"I'm very happy to hear that" he smiled, leaning in to kiss her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Elena!" Alaric yelled from the bottom of the stairs. "Dinner will be here in a few minutes!" he hollered.

"Okay!" she yelled from her room. She had her laptop open, doing some work for the company. Numbers were still looking profitable and Stefan had done everything on the list that she had left him. She typed in a few comments and then logged off, ready to enjoy the rest of the evening with her family.

As soon as her laptop shut down, her phone rang. Her heart skipped with excitement as she quickly picked up. She hadn't been able to talk to him over the phone all day and she felt deprived. "Hi" she smiled, like a school girl with a crush. Was Stefan always going to do that to her?

"Hi" he said, and she knew he was smiling too. "What are you up to?" he asked.

Elena stood up and walked out of her room, ready to join her family downstairs. "Waiting on dinner. I think we're all going to watch a movie" she told him. "What are you up to?" she asked, reaching the bottom of the stairs.

There was a long sigh on his end. "I need to tell you something" he said, sounding serious.

Elena frowned slightly, hoping it was nothing bad. A whole list of possibilities ran through her mind. The doorbell rang and she figured she could answer it since she was closest. "What do you need to tell me?" she asked. Then she opened the door, ready to collect the food and pay the delivery person.

"That I've missed you" Stefan said, standing in front of her smiling as he continued to hold his phone up to his ear.

The shock on Elena's face wasn't going to wear off anytime soon. She moved towards him instantly and threw her arms around him, hugging him close. "Oh my God!" she cried out, crying from both happiness and complete surprise. The last person she expected to be on the other side of that door was Stefan. Though, she probably shouldn't have been surprised.

"I couldn't wait any longer" he said, picking her up off the ground slightly as he hugged her. Sure, she would have been back in Seattle in two days. But he just couldn't wait.

"I don't think I could have either" Elena admitted. She pulled away from him slightly and kissed him.

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked, coming over to see what all the commotion was about in the doorway.

Elena smiled as she pulled away even more from Stefan, though she kept her arm around him. "Look who came to visit" Elena asked, the excitement still showing in her smile.

Jeremy just stared at Stefan. "So the delivery guy isn't here?" he asked.

"No. Just me I'm afraid" Stefan told him, hugging Elena closer.

As if on cue, a car door slammed. "Finally" Jeremy said, squeezing past the two love birds to meet the delivery boy halfway. Jeremy paid for the pizzas and made his way back towards the house. "Nice to see you Stefan" he added, nodding at him as he went back inside. "The food is here!" he announced. And he was pretty excited about it.

Stefan and Elena both laughed. "Come in" she said, leading him inside. "You got here just in time."

"Elena, who are you talking …" Jenna began to ask, only to stop when she saw who it was. "Stefan" she said with a smile.

"Hi Jenna" he said, waving nervously at her. "I hope you don't mind me dropping in like this. I wanted to surprise Elena" he told her.

Jenna only had to look at Elena once to know that she was surprised. "You're welcome here anytime Stefan" Jenna told him, walking closer and pulling him into a hug. She stepped away from him and then ushered them both towards the couch. "You'd best grab some pizza before Jeremy eats it all" she warned them.

"Too late. I ate it all" Jeremy said, hiding the boxes.

Jenna walked behind him and whapped him on the head. "Give them up" she ordered, taking three of the boxes from him. She placed them on a table. "Help yourselves" she said. "There's drinks in the fridge." She grabbed a slice and went and sat down next to Alaric who waved to Stefan.

"Thank you" Stefan said. But he was more eager to hug on Elena at that moment.

Elena grabbed a few slices and a plate for them both. "Come on" she smiled, leading him to the couch. She sat down with him as Jeremy started the movie. "I'm glad you're here" she whispered, kissing his cheek.

He hugged her close, mindful of their PDA. "I thought you would be" he grinned, kissing her cheek right back.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Two hours later, everyone was heading to bed, including Stefan and Elena. "You should shower before we go to sleep" Elena told him as they entered her room.

"You want to join me?" he asked, grinning as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Elena smiled as she shook her head no. "We can't do that here" she reminded him.

Stefan pouted. "I'm still going to think about you as if you were in there with me" he told her. She couldn't take that away from him.

Elena laughed. "Whatever works for you" she said, moving towards her bed. "I'm going to check my e-mail" she informed him.

"Well you're no fun" he told her, peeling off his shirt and tossing it at her. He smiled as he disappeared into her bathroom.

She heard the shower turn on and figured she had at least ten minutes before he got out and wanted to have sex.

Which wasn't going to happen. Not under her aunt's roof. She and Stefan had done some pretty wild things in their relationship, but sex with her family in the house was not, under any circumstances, going to happen.

Elena was in her pajamas and under the covers when Stefan walked out of the shower in just his towel wrapped around his waist. He walked across her room towards his bag, very much aware that Elena's eyes were following him. The way the water fell from his wet hair, down his body was a sight to see. He bent down to search for a pair of boxers, and his towel fell down. Probably not on accident either. "Jesus Stefan" Elena said, covering her eyes.

Stefan turned around and smiled at her, holding the pair of boxers in his hand. "What?" he asked innocently, standing before her completely naked.

"Put your boxers on!" she told him in a hushed voice. Her cheeks were turning red the longer she tried not to stare at him.

"Elena, does my nakedness still turn you on this much?" he asked, walking closer to her bed and lifting one leg up on it. Then he struck a pose for her.

"Just come to bed" Elena said, rolling her eyes. She couldn't help but stare at him though. And who could blame her. Her eyes scanned up and down his body slowly.

"Now that's more like it" Stefan grinned, jumping on top of the bed and landing on top of her. "Remember that part about me missing you?" he asked her, pulling back her covers so he could kiss her neck.

Elena groaned, trying so hard not to give in. "We can't do this here" she said, pushing on his chest. "They'll hear us" she reminded.

Stefan smiled as he reached over and shut her lamp off. Then he crawled under the covers with her, tossing his boxers onto the ground that he hadn't bothered to put on. She didn't put up much of a fight when he pulled her shirt off over her head. He slid down her body some, kissing his way from her neck to her breasts to her stomach. "Let's be quiet then" he whispered, trailing his tongue in slow patterns along her skin.

"Stefan" she groaned, feeling his lips move further and further down her body. Her fingers were threaded through his hair as she so desperately wanted him to stop and keep going at the same time. Stefan's hand slowly peeled her underwear off while his other hand pressed against her skin, becoming reacquainted with it once again.

"Shhh" he warned, pushing her legs apart slowly. He kissed the inside of her thigh, then moved to the other side and did the same. Firm, wet kisses that had her squirming. She whimpered, unable to control herself. "You're going to get us caught" he grinned, running his nose from the back of her knee, all the way up the inside of her thigh. His tongue was on her without warning, and Elena cried out, quickly biting the back of her hand to quiet herself. Who was she? Definitely not the in-control and powerful CFO that ran multi-million dollar companies. No. She was a girl incapable of staying strong under Stefan's touch. Stefan just chuckled, crawling his way back up her body. "Well that's not going to work" he smirked, pulling the covers over them and then resting on top of her.

"I can't help it" she moaned quietly, biting her bottom lip to keep some sort of control.

Stefan brought his hand up to her face and used his thumb to pull her lip away from her teeth. "We'll just have to think of some other way to keep you quiet" he whispered with pure sexual need, dripping from his voice.

"H … how?" she asked nervously. Her body and her mind were completely aroused to the point where she thought she could explode. It was a Stefan Salvatore thing. Something he could do to her simply by kissing her or whispering something to her. And it wasn't fair.

Stefan smiled as he traced his finger along her lips, admiring their beauty. She remained quiet, though her chest was rising and falling with anticipation. "You're so beautiful" he said softly. After a moment of just staring into her eyes, he shifted his body some and covered her mouth with his, easing himself into her slowly.

It was a welcomed surprise as her legs bent slightly, trying to figure out what was going to feel best in that position. Hell. Everything he did felt amazing, no matter what she did with her legs. He wasn't letting her contribute much, which had frustrated her at first. But knowing Stefan, sometimes he just wanted her to lay back and let him love her. Which is what he was doing at that moment.

His kisses swallowed her moans and she appreciated what he was doing, because everyone in the house would have heard her otherwise.

Elena let her fingers run down his back, enjoying the feeling of him everywhere. Inside of her, on top of her, and his arms wrapped around her.

Pure perfection.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was closing in on midnight and the rain was coming down. Whether the forecast had called for rain in Mystic Falls, Elena didn't know. It was all either of them could hear in the dark room though.

Elena had her head resting against his chest, her arm wrapped around his waist. Stefan had his fingers running lazily through her messy hair. "Is there anything missing from your life, Elena?" he asked quietly, staring out the window and watching the rain.

Elena stilled for a moment before finally answering him. "What do you mean?" she asked softly.

Stefan continued to work his fingers through her hair. "I guess I just want to know if there's something you don't have in life, that you thought you would have by this point" he said, clarifying for her what he meant.

Elena sat up and looked down at him. "Why would you ask me that?" she asked. Didn't he know that he was all she needed?

Stefan locked eyes with her finally, and his expression was still serious. "Because if there's anything missing, I want to give it to you" he answered honestly. Whatever it was, he would move mountains in order to give her everything she wanted.

Elena realized that maybe he had some insecurities of his own, just like she did. She smiled sadly as she looked down at him. "The only thing I need from you right now, is a promise that you will be with me for the rest of my life" she said, grabbing his hand to hold. "Because I'll make that same promise to you."

He sat up quickly, pulling her to him and grabbing her face in his hands. He leaned in close and locked eyes with her. "I promise you, Elena, that I will love you, and be right by you, until the day that I die" he said in a quiet, yet serious tone.

Elena nodded, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "I promise you the same, Stefan. I could never love someone as much as I love you" she told him, failing to blink back tears.

Stefan couldn't help his own tears that appeared just by hearing her say that. He had needed to hear her say that, because even though things were really good between them at the moment, he knew that they would face hardships in the future. "You're sure there's nothing else I can do for you?" he asked.

Elena shook her head no as she placed her hands over his, folding their fingers together. "I have everything when I have you" she told him in a faint, teary whisper. She didn't need anything else yet. "Is there something else you need?" she asked, thinking maybe he wanted something more.

Stefan pulled her hand towards him and kissed the inside of her wrist. "I only need you" he said, smiling softly. "You are my everything" he whispered.

Elena quickly moved forward, capturing his lips with hers. If he was going to say things like that to her, then she wanted to kiss him.

Over and over again.

Until they were both breathless.

**A/N: Awww :) Isn't he sweet?**


	53. Chapter 53

**A/N: Happy 4****th**** of July for those who celebrate! I thought I would get this update posted before I go and watch the fireworks.**

**Thank you for reading! I'm thinking about jumping forward a little bit next update to move things along. I'm not sure how far yet though.**

Stefan didn't know how long he and Elena had been wrapped up in each other's arms, kissing lazily. It was early yet, and no one else in the house appeared to be up yet. So they were taking advantage of some quiet alone time.

His hand pressed against her lower back, bringing her even closer to him. Elena smiled, hooking her leg around his and wondering how long you could actually kiss someone for. She intertwined her fingers with his, wanting that extra bit of closeness between them.

Elena's lips eventually pulled away from his. She kissed his neck, causing him to tip his head back and close his eyes. She took the opportunity to explore his body while she had him there next to her, completely relaxed.

Stefan sighed contently as her lips trailed down his chest, laying gentle, soft kisses along his skin. She paid attention to every ripple and every dip of his muscles, making a mental note to tell herself how lucky she was. He was absolutely beautiful.

When Elena got to his boxers, a naughty thought went through her mind, but she resisted the urge. Her family would be up at any time, and Elena doubted Stefan could stay quiet enough. So she kissed his stomach one last time before crawling her way back up to him, giving him a searing kiss.

It left him breathless. "Damn I love you" he told her, smiling as he placed his hands on her bottom and got himself a good feel. He was definitely behaving himself that morning. "You know, when we get home tomorrow, I am fully intending to do certain things with you" he told her with a knowing smirk.

Elena smiled. "What kind of things?" she asked, knowing she shouldn't get herself so excited when they had a whole day to wait.

"Come here" he said, encouraging her to come closer. Elena moved even closer to him. "Dirty things" he whispered in her ear. He felt her body tense as all the possibilities went through her head. "And you will love it" he added, patting her bottom. "Let's make breakfast" he said suddenly, rolling her off of him and sitting up.

Elena laughed, though she was pretty excited about being back in Seattle. "You want to make breakfast?" she asked.

Stefan grabbed a clean pair of clothes and nodded. Elena grabbed her pajama bottoms, not bothering to put on fresh clothes. "Yes I do" he said, leaning over the bed and giving her a quick kiss. "You coming?" he asked, standing. Elena nodded, getting off the bed and grabbing his hand to walk downstairs with him.

"I know we have eggs and bacon. Hopefully pancake mix, because you make the best pancakes ever" she said.

Stefan smiled. "I do, huh?" he asked, squeezing her hand. "What else do I do well?" he asked. Elena reached up on her tiptoes and whispered something in his ear. He gasped. "Elena! You have a dirty mind" he told her, pretending to be shocked.

Elena's eyes lit up. She did have a dirty mind since meeting him. He brought it out of her. "Your fault" she told him.

He went to swat her butt, but she jumped out of the way. "I'll get you, don't you worry" he promised her, smiling as they made their way into the kitchen. Stefan let go of her hand and opened the fridge, pulling things out like he owned the place. "Does everyone like omelets?" he asked.

"Yep" Elena said, grabbing pancake mix out of the pantry. She grabbed two bowls and two whisks for Stefan.

He went to work on cracking eggs. "Here, you work on these. I'll start the pancakes" he told her, looking for a frying pan. They were quite the team in the kitchen as well. "Hand me the butter?" he asked. Elena reached over and gave it to him. They proceeded to stand side by side cooking. "Damon called me" Stefan mentioned. "He said they needed our help picking out names for the baby. Apparently, we are the final tie breaker" he explained.

Elena smiled. "That's an important job, being the deciding judge for a baby's name" Elena said. "If we help them, do you think they will want to help us?" Elena asked causally. It was her way of bringing up having kids.

He didn't get weird or uncomfortable with how she brought the subject up though. "Probably" Stefan smiled. "But I think you and I are perfectly capable of agreeing on one name" he told her with a small smile.

"You think about having kids?" she asked, realizing that they had never really had a serious discussion about it.

He smiled again, putting the whisk down and grabbing her hand, turning her to face him. He looked her straight in the eyes. "I know I want to have a baby with you" he told her. "Two even" he smiled.

Elena smiled as well. "In a few years?" she asked. Maybe then, she would be able to take time off from working. "I'd like to stay home and raise them" she admitted. Like her mother had done with her and Jeremy.

"Sounds perfect" he told her, leaning down and kissing her. He couldn't believe how close her future plans lined up with his.

"Okay Mr. Good Kisser" she said, pulling away from him. "We have breakfast to cook" she reminded.

"Yes we do" he grinned, turning back to the pancakes. He bumped her playfully as she tried to pour egg into the pan. She glared at him, which made them both laugh.

Half an hour later, they had more food than they probably needed. Though, Jeremy would be happy.

Stefan sat on a stool at the counter with Elena on his lap. They were looking through a wedding magazine. Elena was surprised that he had taken an interest in looking at things like centerpieces and flower arrangements. But she wasn't going to complain. The whole wedding planning thing was overwhelming.

They were sharing a plate for breakfast, even sharing the fork. Though Elena was much more interested in the magazine in front of her than eating. "What do you think? A champagne fountain or a chocolate fountain?" she asked, pointing to two she liked on the page. She tapped her pen, thinking about it. She loved both, but she didn't think she needed both.

Stefan grabbed the pen out of her hand and circled both. "Let's have both" he told her.

Elena turned her head and looked up at him. "Yeah?" she asked, unable to contain her smile.

"Yeah" he smiled, leaning down and kissing her. "What do you think about a live band?" he asked. "Someone local maybe."

"I like that idea" she said, making a note on her notepad. "What do you think about pink for the colors?" Elena asked. She had thought a little about what she wanted as far as a color scheme went. And she liked pink.

"Is pink the color you want?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her tightly and resting his chin on her shoulder. She nodded. "Then I think pink would be perfect. Like a lighter one and a darker one?" he asked.

Elena smiled. "I think so. I'll have to do a little more looking around to find two that complement one another" she explained.

"Something smells good" Alaric stated, walking into the kitchen in his sweats and a high school shirt. His hair was sticking everywhere as he grabbed a plate and helped himself.

Jenna came in a few minutes later, pleasantly surprised to find breakfast already cooked. "Did you two do this?" she asked.

"It was Stefan's idea" Elena said, smiling as she turned the page in her magazine.

Jenna grabbed a couple of pancakes and an omelet and sat down next to them. "Thanks Stefan" she said, winking at him. "Did you guys find things you like?" she asked, looking over Elena's shoulder.

Elena nodded. "Yep. We circled the things we want. I guess we need to think about a menu" she said.

"McDonalds" Jeremy said, making his presence known as he walked into the kitchen. Everyone turned to look at him. "What?" he asked. "Cheap, fast food. No one is going to turn down a McDouble and some fries" he shrugged, helping himself to a plate.

Elena laughed at her brother. "I was thinking something a little more classy Jer" she told him. "Right Stefan?" Elena asked.

Stefan shrugged. "I don't know. I'm kind of with Jeremy on this one" he told her. Elena elbowed him. "What?" Stefan asked. "They might even cater if we ask them" he grinned.

Elena and Jenna rolled their eyes. "How about grilled Mediterranean chicken or the option of halibut baked in a lemon oregano?" Alaric asked. They all turned to look at him, shocked that he would come up with that kind of a menu. "What?" he asked, stabbing at his pancake. "I worked in an upscale restaurant to put myself through college" he shrugged.

"Can we have those little smokies in BBQ sauce for a snack?" Jeremy asked.

"Jeremy!" Jenna scolded. "This is your sister's wedding. Not some backyard potluck" she told him.

"Then can we go to the store and buy some little smokies? Because I've been craving them since like, two days ago" he informed.

Alaric and Stefan and Elena all laughed at him, while Jenna just shook her head. "I'll pick you up some when I go to the store next" she told him.

"Sis, I'd like to help you pick out the beer for the reception" Jeremy said, putting his plate in the sink.

"My God Jeremy! Champagne. Elena is serving champagne. Her wedding is in a castle for God sakes!" Jenna said. She couldn't believe his suggestions. Her niece was supposed to have this beautiful, elegant wedding and here Jeremy wanted beer and little smokies.

Jeremy frowned. "The kings and the knights all drank beer" he pointed out.

"You're not even old enough to drink yet" Elena reminded him.

Jeremy rolled his eyes at his over protective sister. "Beer and little smokies Sis" he said, walking by her and poking her in the side of the head. "That is a winning combination" he said. "Thanks for breakfast" he told them, heading out of the kitchen and back upstairs.

Stefan couldn't help but laugh. He was really starting to like that kid. "What are you laughing about?" Elena asked him. "He'll be your brother too" she added with a smirk as she got up off of his lap to put their plate away.

"I wouldn't be so smug" Stefan warned her. "You get Damon" head reminded her.

"When is the baby due?" Jenna asked.

"End of August" Stefan answered.

"Are you excited?" Jenna asked.

Stefan couldn't help but smile. "I'm very excited" Stefan said. "I've always wanted to be an uncle" he added. One of those cool uncles who let the kids do things that parents would frown upon.

Jenna seemed to like his answer. "Being an aunt has been one of the highlights of my life" Jenna said, standing and putting her plate away. She stood next to Elena and wrapped her arms around her. "I love you" Jenna said, squeezing her tight.

"I'm happy to hear that" Stefan said. He looked at Elena. "She's pretty hard not to love" he added. He loved Elena more than was probably humanly possible.

Elena blushed, while Jenna was smiling. "Hey Alaric? Why don't you take the boys out this afternoon so I can spend a little time with Elena before she heads back?" Jenna suggested.

Alaric stood. "Sure thing" he said, putting his plate away before leaning in and kissing Jenna. Elena made a face while Stefan laughed at her. "Come on Stefan. Let's go do manly stuff" Alaric announced, walking out of the kitchen.

Stefan waved to Elena before following Alaric. "I'll see you this evening" he told her.

Elena let him get out of the kitchen before she ran after him. She caught him by the arm before reaching up and kissing him. Alaric just shook his head and smiled as he went upstairs to change. "I love you" she whispered, letting him go.

"Love you too" he smiled, kissing her forehead before heading up the stairs too.

Elena smiled brightly. "You keep smiling like that and your face will stay stuck like that" Jenna said, coming to stand next to Elena.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Elena asked.

Jenna laughed. "I'd love to see you smile like this all day, every day" Jenna said, wrapping her arms around her niece. "I guess I owe Stefan for making you so happy" she added. Elena smiled and nodded. "Go get dressed. I want to show you something" Jenna told her. Elena looked at her curiously, but did not hesitate to run upstairs and change.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Elena knew where they were heading as soon as she saw the sign for the lake. Elena blushed when she thought about the last time she had been at the lake house. With Stefan. Jenna put her car in park and shut off the engine. "I haven't been here for a while" she said, looking at the house.

"Hasn't changed much" Elena said, opening the door and getting out. "So, what is it you wanted to show me?" Elena asked.

Jenna got out and followed Elena towards the house. She just smiled at Elena. "You'll see" she told her.

Elena followed Jenna into the house and up the stairs. She stopped when Jenna went into her parent's room. "Jenna?" Elena asked, stepping into the room just a few steps. Elena still didn't like to go into her parent's room. There were so many memories.

Jenna opened the closet and grabbed something. "When your parents died, I moved some of their things here" she said. "There were some things I couldn't part with. Especially this" she said, unzipping a bag and taking out a white gown. A wedding gown. "This was your mom's" Jenna said, smiling sadly. "I thought you might want to try it on, see if you like it" she added.

Elena felt tears build up as she walked towards Jenna, unable to take her eyes off of her mother's wedding dress. "It's beautiful" Elena said. She touched the soft material, running her fingers over the lace.

"Your mom spent months looking for the perfect dress before she found this one. And she looked beautiful wearing it" Jenna smiled. She watched Elena admire the dress. "You don't have to wear it if you don't want to. I just thought I'd show it to you" Jenna said softly.

Elena smiled as the first tear escaped. "It's perfect" she said.

Jenna held the dress up to Elena and turned her so she could look in the mirror. Why don't you try it on?" Jenna suggested.

Elena took a small breath before nodding. "Okay" she said, taking the dress and going into the bathroom. Jenna sat on the edge of the bed and waited. It only took Elena a few minutes before she came back out, a huge smile on her face. "I love it" Elena said, admiring herself in the mirror.

Jenna stood up and walked towards her. "You look beautiful" Jenna told her, smiling. "You'd look beautiful in anything, but I think your mother would agree with me that this dress was meant for you too" she said, starting to cry too.

"Stop that" Elena said, turning to hug Jenna as they cried together. "I miss them so much" Elena said, letting herself admit that.

Jenna nodded. "I miss them too, Elena" she said. Then she pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Come on. Let's see if she has any jewelry you can wear with it" Jenna smiled.

"Okay" Elena said, wiping at her own tears. She walked over to the dresser and opened up the jewelry box, picking through what she thought she might want.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When they got back to Seattle, they stopped for a quick bite to eat before heading home. "Do you want to watch a movie before bed?" Stefan asked, letting them into the apartment and kicking off his shoes.

"Sure. Give me a minute" she said, taking her bag and going into their room.

She had been in there for about twenty minutes before Stefan finally went and checked on her. "Elena?" he asked. "Everything okay in here?" he asked. When he saw her come out of the bathroom, he nearly dropped dead. "Holy shit" he said in awe.

"It still fits" Elena said, dressed in her old cheerleading outfit from high school. "Are you going to stand there and look at me all night?" she asked him with a grin.

"I'm thinking about it" Stefan answered. "Jesus. You must have had all the boys chasing after you" he said, giving a low whistle.

Elena laughed. "Maybe" she said. She had only been interested in Matt at the time though.

Stefan smiled as he walked towards her. "Do you still know any of those cheers?" he asked, placing his hands on her waist and pulling her close to him.

Elena smiled. "No" she answered with a smile. "That was a long time ago."

Stefan pulled her even closer. "And you still look as cute as ever in this little outfit" he said. Then he smiled, grabbing her quickly and tossing her on the bed. He was on top of her in seconds, kissing her roughly. His hands were under her skirt, exploring.

She sat up, breaking their kiss as she peeled her top off, revealing a sexy black bra that he hadn't seen before. "Help me get this skirt off" she told him, breathless against his lips.

"No" Stefan whispered. "Let's leave the skirt on" he said, pulling her underwear down slowly. He tossed it across the room and then took his t-shirt off. "Let's be teenagers again" he grinned. "You know, hot, passionate uncoordinated sex with half of our clothes still on" he explained. He had the silliest grin on his face that let her know he was serious.

Elena's heart began to race as she watched him slide his jeans and his briefs down just below his hips. She grabbed ahold of his hips and pulled him down on top of her. "Well go on" she told him. "Show me a good time" she smirked.

Stefan kissed her shoulder slowly, listening to her sigh. "I'll show you the best time" Stefan promised.

Elena closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm counting on it" she whispered, smiling when she felt his hands lifting up her skirt again. "You never do disappoint" she added.

"Damn right I don't" he growled, bringing his lips to hers and kissing her long and hard.


	54. Chapter 54

**A/N: Warning, the first part is a little M rating for my writing. Probably not for all of you, and you know if I am talking about you ;) **

**Also, I cannot stress this enough. I cannot be held responsible for how Stefan makes you feel. I suffer with you.**

Elena woke up, not to her alarm, but to someone's hand lightly running along her stomach. She kept her eyes closed, but smiled. "Good morning" she whispered.

His lips were on hers instantly, happy to see her awake. "Morning" he whispered back, kissing her neck, taking in the smell of her skin and loving her.

Elena smiled even more as she felt Stefan everywhere. She was thankful she had finally lost her entire cheer leading outfit because being naked at that moment was proving to be very practical for them both. "What time is it?" she asked. They both had to go into work that day. She was exhausted from her trip, but she was excited to be back in the office to get some work done.

"We've got about 30 minutes until the alarm goes off" he whispered in her ear. He hadn't planned on getting up before the alarm, but since he was up, he figured he might as well make the most of it. "You wanna?" he asked suggestively, sucking lightly on her collarbone. Because he sure as hell did.

"Okay" she said. Nothing like a quickie before work on a Monday morning to start the week off. She opened her eyes and saw Stefan staring down at her. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing" he told her, moving a piece of hair behind her ear. "Just admiring how pretty you are" he said, smiling when he made her smile.

"Look at you being all charming this morning" she said laughing, placing her hands against his chest.

Stefan looked down at her curiously. "Are you making fun of me?" he asked, his eyes alive with excitement.

"So what if I am?" she asked, her own eyes matching his. Then she squealed, feeling Stefan's hands attack her sides. "No, please, stop!" she laughed, attempting to curl up in a ball so he couldn't tickle her anymore. "Stefan! No!" she continued to plea, crawling away from him when curling into a ball didn't work. She started to fall off of the bed, taking the blankets with her.

And Stefan wasn't far behind, sliding off of the bed on top of her. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, pulling her by her leg to keep her close. He let up on the tickling as she settled under him. "Are you going to survive?" he asked with a silly grin.

"Maybe" she said, trying to be mad at him but not able to. She loved him more than anything. Stefan smiled, leaning down and kissing her. Elena melted into his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. His hands explored, running over her soft skin.

They both heard the phone ring in the kitchen, causing them both to groan. "We should get that. Might be someone about the wedding" he said. They were waiting on various people to confirm different arrangements. "Come on" he said, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up. He continued to kiss her as they walked naked into the kitchen. He deposited her on the marble countertop and she nearly yelped from how cold it was on her skin. "Hello?" he asked, answering the phone as he wrapped his arm around Elena, pulling her close. She didn't waste any time kissing his neck, making it incredibly difficult for him to hear anything that the person on the phone was saying. "Uh … huh" Stefan barely got out, closing his eyes as Elena's lips made their way down to this shoulder. Her hands were busy exploring those toned muscles on his back. "That all … sounds … per …perfect" Stefan said, struggling to get a sentence out when Elena's hand was moving down his front, tracing the lines on his stomach, zigzagging her way down. "Okay" Stefan said, continuing to listen and wishing the person would hang up already.

"I'm waiting" Elena whispered in his ear, causing him to grip the phone even tighter. He tried to ignore her teeth biting his ear, tugging in a teasing manner. The person on the other end of the phone was rattling off details that Stefan thought could have been e-mailed to him. He had a very naked, and very eager woman on his marble kitchen countertop waiting. "Stefan" she whined softly into his ear. God, he hated making her wait. "I need you so bad right now" she whispered, sighing for added effect as her hand reached down and grabbed what he considered to be his best asset in the bedroom.

He froze. Having her hand stroking him, and her warm breath against his ear with her soft voice whispering what she needed was all he could take. "I … I appreciate you calling. Would it be possible for you to send all of this information over via e-mail?" Stefan asked quickly. Stefan listened for a moment to the caller before smiling. "Great, thanks for calling" he said, hanging up the phone and sliding it across the counter. He rested his head against Elena's shoulder, closing his eyes as she continued. "That feels unbelievable" he said, kissing her shoulder.

Elena smiled, enjoying the compliment. "Who was on the phone?" she whispered.

Stefan suddenly grabbed her off of the counter, swinging her around to the larger counter on the other side. In one swift motion, he sent the fruit bowl crashing onto the ground and had Elena splayed out on top of the marble. He lifted himself up on the counter and quickly moved over the top of her, kissing her hard for a moment. When she was breathless, he smiled. "The venue manager. We got the castle for the wedding" he smiled. It took her a moment to process the news, but when she had, she was smiling. She looked so happy, and he honestly couldn't think of a single thing he wouldn't do to see her that happy all the time. "Now, where were we?" he asked, kissing her nose softly, making his way down her throat.

"We're really gonna do it on the kitchen counter?" she asked after a moment, breathing heavily. They had a perfectly good bed, but no, they were going to screw right on top of the counter where they made their morning coffee.

Stefan grinned. "Uh huh" he told her, pushing himself inside of her ever so slowly. Just the way she liked him to.

"Oh God" she said, closing her eyes and reaching her hands out to the side to grab onto something. All she could find was hard countertop that really did nothing to help her.

Stefan moved against her, slow, then fast, and then slow again, kissing just below her ear. "I can stop and we can move to the bedroom if you'd like" he said mischievously.

She shook her head no wildly, still trying to find something to grab onto. "Stefan, don't stop. Oh my God, don't stop" she whimpered. Sure, they were going to have to sanitize the entire countertop, but it would be worth it. It was already worth it.

Stefan grabbed onto her hands, seeing that she was looking for something to hold onto. He stretched her arms out above her head and held them there. This only seemed to intensify anything she was feeling, and he was pretty damn sure that she was feeling pretty damn amazing. He never liked to brag, okay, maybe a little, but when it came to pleasing Elena, he was a fucking genius. Who else had just randomly thrown her up on a countertop and made her cry out like she was doing? He guessed probably no one. And he liked knowing this fact.

He switched sides, moving to her other ear and giving it gentle kisses too. He had to smile that the beautiful diamond earrings in her ears were ones he had given her. He'd have to buy her another pair. "I love the sounds you make" he whispered, getting a pleasurable cry out of her when he rested his hips completely against hers, letting her feel all of him. "Drives me wild" he growled.

The phone rang out again and Elena opened her eyes, locking them with Stefan's. "I should probably get that …" he said, wanting to see what she would do if he did try and get up.

Elena's hands squeezed his tight though, and her look was scary serious. "Don't even" she warned, clearing experiencing so much pleasure that the thought of him stopping what they were doing could have been life-threatening for her.

Stefan smiled, clearly turned on that she needed him so much. He moved closer and kissed her lips briefly. "We have five minutes until we have to be in the shower" he reminded softly. "Are you going to be done by then?" he asked with a devilish smirk as he watched her writhe beneath him, trying desperately to find her release, but also knowing that he was controlling that.

"Don't rush me" she growled, clearly frustrated, but in a good way. "So maybe we're a little late for work today" she smiled, lifting her head up some and pressing her lips against his.

He couldn't help but feel even more excited. "I like the sound of that" he said against her lips, leaning in and deepening her kiss.

He really, really liked the sound of that.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

An hour later, Elena was spraying all the countertops down with Lysol, taking a rag and wiping them clean. She had the silliest smile on her face when she thought about what they did. It might have even topped the conference table at work.

As she finished, she looked up to see Stefan staring at her, standing in the kitchen entrance and buttoning up his shirt. "No use in cleaning it now" Stefan told her, eyeing the cleaner in her hand. "Because we're more than likely going to do that again tonight" he added with a sexy grin that had her inner thigh muscles clenching. She set the Lysol down as he walked towards her. His arms pulled her against him as he tucked his face into her neck, smelling her hair. "Or maybe I'll take you against the refrigerator" he whispered in her ear. Her fingers tightened around his shirt where she was holding onto him. "Or on the coffee table. Maybe in our closet where it would be completely dark …" he murmured, placing a gentle kiss against her skin.

"Damn you" she whispered, knowing that she was going to be distracted the rest of the day.

Stefan smiled. "If I remember correctly, you were encouraging me not too long ago" he said. His hands found their way under her blouse, caressing her back. "Oh Stefan. Yes, harder Stefan. Stefan, right there. Right there" he said, repeating what she had been saying to him when they had been on the countertop. His voice had tried to sound like hers had, and quite honestly, Elena would agree that she had sounded that desperate.

"I won't deny the fact that I beg when we're having sex" she said, stepping back from him. "It's only natural when someone is making you feel that good to ask for more" she shrugged, refusing to let Stefan make fun of her. "But tonight" she added, grabbing his hands to hold. "I think I just want to take a bubble bath. No sex. Just … touching" she said, looking up at him.

"You and me, naked in a bubble bath?" he asked, thinking it over. "I suppose we could do that" he said, smiling as they began to leave the kitchen. He grabbed their coats, helping her get hers on. Then he opened the door, ready to head out. "Just so we're clear. No sex in the bathtub, but we'll have sex once we go to bed, right?" he asked for clarification.

Elena laughed at him. "Sure" she told him, fully intending on not having any more sex that day. She was exhausted, and she hadn't even started her workday yet.

When they did get to the office, Damon was waiting for them, looking frustrated. Elena looked at her watch and saw that they weren't late, so he couldn't have been frustrated with them. "We need to talk" Damon said, shutting the door behind them. Elena and Stefan both looked at each other. "We've got a potential client coming this morning. He's one that would be a huge account for us, but I can't get him to purchase from us. I've been trying for months and he's just so wish washy that it is driving me crazy" he said with a long sigh.

"I'll meet with him" Elena said, taking her coat off and putting it over her chair. "Can you get me his file so I will know what I am dealing with?" she asked.

"Sure" Damon said, now seeming a lot happier. "Thank you Elena" he told her. "And you're both coming over for dinner tonight, by the way. Bonnie said so" he added, leaving the office.

Stefan gave Elena a pouty face and she laughed at him. "It will be fun" she told him. Sure, they wouldn't be taking a bubble bath, but they'd be spending time with family. She sat down and logged into her computer.

The file she received had a lot of useful information. She would be meeting with the potential client soon. She took note that he was a spoiled rich kid who had dropped out of college. He was running the family restaurant chain in Washington and Oregon, overseeing about 16 restaurants total. Damon had been right. Making this guy a client would work very well in their favor.

When Elena got the call that the client had arrived and was waiting in the conference room, Elena stood up and walked by Stefan. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Good luck" he smiled.

"It's not about luck, Stefan" she told him, bending down and giving him a kiss. "It's about making people do what you want them to do" she smirked, patting his cheek as she left. Stefan just shook his head, feeling sorry for the guy. Because he was going to buy Salvatore Coffee whether he really wanted to or not. Elena would make sure of it.

Elena found the client admiring plaques on the wall in the conference room. "Mr. Turner?" she asked, shutting the door behind her. He turned around, seeming surprised to see her, but smiling nonetheless. He was a handsome young man, probably a few years younger than herself. Sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He honestly looked like he belonged at the beach, and not in an office. "I am Elena Gilbert. CFO of Salvatore Coffee" she said, smiling as she gave him her hand.

"Well it is nice to meet you Miss Gilbert. I was under the impression that I would be meeting with Mr. Damon Salvatore" he told her.

Elena offered him a seat, taking one for herself. "Mr. Salvatore is unavailable at the moment. I assure you I can answer any and all of your questions" she said. Before he could say anything more, she busted out charts and statistics that were color-coded. She had created them to use with all clients. "As you know" she began, going into full business mode. She lived for this stuff. "Salvatore Coffee is the leading privately owned manufacturer and distributor of gourmet coffee in Seattle" she reminded him, assuming that he already knew that. "We have clients all over the United States and Canada and we are branching out to international companies as well" she stated. "As you can see from this chart, our customer satisfaction reviews are the number one indicator that doing business with us is not only the right decision, but the best one that you will make for you restaurant business needs. I know Mr. Salvatore has been over all of the details with you on many occasions" she said, cutting to the chase. "So why don't you tell me what is holding you back from choosing to do business with Salvatore Coffee?" she asked, looking him directly in the eyes and making him a tad bit nervous.

"Well" he said, clearing his throat. "The price is a little steep. We can buy coffee in bulk for a lot cheaper" he informed her.

Elena smiled. "Isn't the satisfaction of your restaurant customers worth spending a little extra on your coffee budget?" Elena asked, being real with him. "Did you know that coffee is the number one product ordered in a large-scale restaurant chain such as the one you do such a fine job managing?" she asked. He had to smile at the compliment. "Mr. Turner, you want your customers to be happy. I mean, if they're happy, you make money, right?" she asked. He nodded. "We are prepared to supply your coffee needs to all 16 restaurants you manage here in Washington and Oregon" she told him. "As an added bonus for choosing us, we'll include your restaurants in our monthly marketing and promotions. So, what do you say?" she asked.

Elena came walking out of the conference room, shaking Mr. Turner's hand and bidding him a good day. She returned to her office where Stefan and Damon were impatiently waiting. "Be prepared. He wants weekly shipments to all of his restaurants" she said. "And I didn't even have to give him a discount" she smirked.

"Unbelievable" Damon said. "I've been trying to get this guy for months and you land his business in ten minutes" he added.

"That's my girl" Stefan smiled proudly, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her. "Congratulations" he whispered.

"Thank you" she told him. She turned back around to see Damon shaking his head.

"You're worth every penny I pay you" he told her, pulling her away from Stefan and giving her a hug as well.

That made Elena feel incredible. She loved feeling so accomplished in the office. "Thank you Damon" she told him. When he let her go, Elena went back to Stefan. "I should update those models" she told him.

"Okay" Stefan said, kissing her forehead. "I'm going to talk with my brother for a few minutes" he added. Elena smiled at him before making her way back to her computer.

Stefan and Damon stepped out of the office to give Elena some quiet. "She's amazing, isn't she?" Stefan asked, unable to stop smiling.

"She sure is. You have me to thank, you know. Sending you to dinner with her all those months ago" Damon reminded.

Stefan grinned. He could totally be a smartass, but he chose not to be. "Thank you Damon. You allowed me to meet the love of my life" he told him. He'd be forever grateful, too.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I think Juliet is a beautiful name" Elena said, sitting next to Stefan on the couch and eating ice cream for dessert. Bonnie smiled smugly. That was her choice for a girl name. "What do you think?" Elena asked Stefan.

"I'd have to agree" he said, wrapping is arm around her.

"Looks like my girl name wins" Bonnie smiled, rubbing her stomach. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Well, Damon. What if you got to name the baby if it is a boy?" Elena suggested. She liked compromise. "Because I love the name Alex" she informed him. Again, Stefan agreed. Then again, he wanted sex when he got home.

Bonnie and Damon looked at each other for a moment. "I think that's fair" Bonnie said. "What about you, honey?" she asked.

Damon nodded. "Okay. If the baby is a boy, we name him Alex. And if the baby is a girl, we name her Juliet" he clarified.

"So when are you two going to find out the sex?" Stefan asked.

Bonnie and Damon both smiled. "We're waiting until the baby is born" Bonnie announced.

"You are?" Stefan asked. He looked between the both of them. "I couldn't wait that long" he told them. "I'd have to know as soon as I could."

Elena looked up at him and smiled. "What if I didn't want to know?" she asked him.

Stefan shrugged. "I'll cover your ears when the doctor tells me" he said, kissing the side of her head.

Elena laughed at him. "I'll take the dishes" she announced, standing up and grabbing all four ice cream bowls.

Stefan followed her, wanting a moment alone. He found her in the kitchen rinsing out the bowls. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back to him. "You wouldn't want to know what you were having?" he asked, his hand resting on her stomach.

Elena smiled. "I'm not sure" she told him. "But I guess if you'd really want to know, then I would find out with you" she said.

"Yeah?" he asked, pulling her hair back and kissing the side of her neck.

"Yeah" she smiled, turning the water off and then turning around to face him. "I love you" she said, resting her hands on his sides.

"I love you too, Elena" he said. "September can't come soon enough" he added, leaning in and kissing her slowly.

**A/N: Maybe we can have our own special on the news, like a broadcast about all guys who are single and as perfect as Stefan need to meet somewhere so we can find them?**


End file.
